Harry Potter and the Axe of Slytherin
by Shorty McMelon
Summary: Lord Voldemort has obtained a powerful weapon that can do away with Harry FOREVER. As Harry continues his 6th yr. at Hogwarts, he fears that Voldemort is getting closer to finishing what he started, 5 years ago. [RonHermione]. Ootp spoilers! UPDATED! R
1. The Dursley's Change of Heart

Hi there everyone!! Umm....this is my FIRST ever Harry Potter fanfic, which I decided to write because my very good friend suggested I should (she knows who she is lol). Well anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this story and don't forget to Review at the end please!!  
  
**WARNING:** I suggest that you should only read this story if you've already read the 5th HP book, Order of the Phoenix since my story is based on what has happened from that and I don't wish to spoil any surprises in the 5th book that you might not have known...Well, ENJOY!!!!  
  
_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters_

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**CHAPTER 1: The Dursleys' Change of Heart  
**  
Harry Potter, a teenage boy with untidy, dark hair, and glasses, sat on his bed smiling with a look of joy on his face. For the first time in his life, Harry was actually happy to be home at Number 4 Privet Drive with the family that he despised so much, the Dursleys. Ever since the members of the Order of the Phoenix had that discussion with Uncle Vernon about treating Harry properly, his aunt, uncle and even his cousin, Dudley had been treating Harry very differently that summer. They were kinder to him, which was quite a shock to Harry at first, but he eventually grew accustomed to their forced compassion since he knew that they would have to answer to Lupin, Tonks, or maybe even Mad-Eye Moody if they ever stepped out of line.  
  
As Harry sat on his bed, he stared at the array of birthday presents that he had just finished opening on his 16th birthday. All around him were bits of crumpled pieces of wrapping paper scattered on the bedroom floor, and spread all over his desk were the numerous birthday presents that he received from his many friends he'd met over the past few years in the wizarding world: an over baked chocolate cake from Hagrid, a book called, 'Quidditch Teams of the World' from Hermione, and an assortment of wizard sweets from Lupin. He even received a few gifts from the Dursleys that seemed to be a lot more thoughtful than the usual pair of old socks that he had gotten in the previous years. Included with one of his presents (a miniature Quidditch playing field with tiny figurines bewitched to seem like they were actually playing) was a letter from one of his best friends, Ron Weasley, which he began to read.  
  
_Dear Harry,  
  
How are those Dursleys treating you these days now that Moody and the gang told them off? Hope you had a wonderful birthday. Fred and George's shop in Diagon Alley is doing rather well. I mean mum still is a little shocked at the fact that they quit school for it, but they help out by lending money so I guess it's okay. Listen, my parents say its okay for you to come and stay with us for the rest of the summer so ask your uncle if it's all right and send Hedwig with an answer. Well I better go, mum's going berserk! Fred and George just gave Ginny one of their new experiments and her tongue is swelling up. See ya Harry!!  
  
-Ron  
  
P.S. Hermione of course will be coming to stay with us too, I don't know if I can stand her much longer though! She keeps talking about that crooked- nosed, Viktor Krum! It's getting very annoying!  
_  
Harry began to laugh under his breath after reading the last few lines of the letter. Ron and his other friend, Hermione Granger have always been at each others throats for the past 6 years that they've known each other. Harry was beginning to think that maybe Ron was jealous and really did fancy Hermione but setting that thought aside, Harry immediately tore off a piece of parchment and began writing.  
  
_Hi Ron,  
  
I'm pretty sure it'll be okay for me to come and visit you for the summer. The Dursleys probably want to get rid of me anyway. I think they're tired of acting nice to me really. Okay, well, send word when you're going to come pick something or me up. Can't wait to see you.  
  
-Harry  
_  
He then walked over to Hedwig's cage, unhooked the door and let her fly around the room for a few minutes before attaching the rolled up parchment to her leg. "Okay Hedwig, go send this to Ron," he told his snowy, white owl as he released her and let her fly gracefully into the pale, blue sky.  
  
Then he walked back over to his bed and turned on the television that he had gotten from the Dursleys as an early birthday present to the Muggle news station. An anchorman with what appeared to be a very cheap, brown toupee was now talking. "In other parts of the world, people in Britain are now able to relax a little with word that the escaped criminal, Sirius Black has been pronounced dead..."  
  
At hearing this, the happiness of receiving all those gifts left him and Harry's eyes began to fill up with tears, though he told himself not to cry. He knew that the man on the TV was right, but it had been very hard for Harry to accept that his godfather was gone and begin moving on with his life. He was aware of Sirius's bravery before he died, trying to rescue him from the Dark Lord's Death Eaters. But Harry always heard a little voice in the back of his mind that told him "if only he, himself did not feel the need to be a hero, Sirius would still be alive."  
  
He remembered towards the end of the school year, he and 5 of his other friends had rushed to the Ministry of Magic in hopes of saving Sirius, only to find that it was a trick to lure him there by Lord Voldemort. Yet Harry knew not to blame himself for the death of Sirius and even Dumbledore assured Harry that it was not his fault. So, he dried his eyes the best that he could, turned off the TV, and laid back onto his pillow still thinking about his godfather.  
  
Harry must've dozed off for a while because before he knew it, his Aunt Petunia was sitting on the bed and was shaking him gently, though Harry could feel a sense of tenseness in his aunt's grip. He knew that she wanted to shake him harder but was bound by the promise her husband made. "Wake up you foolish boy! It's time to eat and the food is getting cold," she began to yell, but then trailed off to a more reasonable volume. "And pick up all this junk on the floor! It looks like a storm came through here!!" she said, pointing at the scattered wrapping paper on the floor.  
  
"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry replied, still a little bit drowsy from his small nap and sat up on his bed. He stretched out his arms, stood up, and then began to pick up all the mess on the floor, and threw it in the garbage bin sitting in the corner. Then he walked out of his room and down into the kitchen where Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley were already digging into their dinner.  
  
Harry walked over to his chair and sat down. The Dursleys could no longer feed Harry just bread or other meals that were an 'insufficient' source of nutrition according to Lupin, who had recently came to check up on them to insure that the Dursleys were treating Harry with respect. He was now entitled to as much food as Dudley. However Harry never ate such large amounts of food like his pig-like cousin, but could definitely say that he was never hungry while living in Privet Drive.  
  
During their meal, Harry brought up the subject of going to Ron's for the rest of the summer. "Sure, you can go stay with your kind," Uncle Vernon began to say with food in his mouth, and continued under his breath, "those no good--poor excuse of--rubbish....."  
  
"What's that you said there uncle?" Harry asked with the sound of sarcastic mischief in his voice. "You don't want me to tell that man with the funny eye that you've been insulting us and our kind do you? I bet he wouldn't be very pleased with that." He continued realizing that he was really annoying his uncle because he could see that round face of his turn a dark shade of purple. Harry was pleased with himself; he enjoyed the fact that he could push the limit of his family's patience knowing that the Order of the Phoenix would back him up if they ever did anything to harm him.  
  
When dinner was finished, Harry went back up to his room and sat on his bed once again, full of the delicious meal he'd just finished eating. He had just sat down when he heard a tap on the window and a blur of white came to rest on the sill. Quickly, he went to go open the window and let Hedwig inside. She dropped a piece of parchment onto the desk as she went to go land on Harry's shoulder. He opened the letter, which read:  
  
_Harry,  
  
Great, so dad and I will come and pick you up tomorrow. Be ready with all your stuff packed. See you then!  
  
-Ron  
_  
"Wonderful Hedwig, we get to leave this house for the rest of the summer! Aren't you excited?" Harry asked his owl who nipped gently at his ear to show her affection. Then he went to go put her back in her cage and got dressed in his pajamas. He got into his bed and turned on his TV to his favourite Muggle television show before going to sleep a few hours later with the pleasant thought in his mind of being back with his friends for the remaining weeks before the start of school.

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Well that's chapter 1 for now, I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to Review. 


	2. Return to Grimmauld Place

Hey! I Finished the 2nd chapter now.....hope the story's good so far.......Please R&R!!!!! Oh and thanks to General Failure who posted a review, I really appreciate it and glad you like it so far.  
  
_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters_

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**Chapter 2: Return to Grimmauld Place**  
  
Harry awoke the next morning to find that his scar was burning slightly, he was covered in cold sweat, and his bed sheets were jumbled all around him. He had a dream last night (not really a dream.....more like a premonition), one that he'd not had in quite some time. These realistic premonitions of Harry's haven't been happening as frequently since he had been clearing his mind every night before going to bed, just like Snape had taught him during their Occlumency lessons last year. However, he must've forgotten to clear his mind last night, with the buzzing excitement about leaving Privet Drive the next day.  
  
In the premonition, Harry recalled seeing Lord Voldemort sitting in a very battered, thrown-like chair. He was surrounded by Death Eaters, which seemed to have grown in numbers since Harry's last encounter with his evil enemy. He also remembered Voldemort calling Wormtail to enter the room who came in through a draped entrance holding a velvet cushion with a shiny silver object sitting on top. Then Voldemort went on the say, "Yes......we must do away with the boy soon or else all will fail." Voldemort picked up the object that was lying on the cushion and it was then that Harry saw what it was, an axe. Finally, the last thing Harry could remember was Voldemort letting out a very cold, sinister laugh and that was when he woke up.  
  
Harry now sat upright in his bed, still cold from shock. Voldemort was still looking to kill him after the many times Harry had escaped his terrible wrath. Who would he tell about this omen? He didn't want to send letters to anyone for he feared that they might be intercepted. And he could just picture himself at the breakfast table that morning, telling Uncle Vernon about his dream. "What's that eh?? Having dreams about people wanting to kill ya? What's the matter with you boy?" he probably would say. No, he'd just have to wait until Mr Weasley came to pick him up.  
  
He waited for the pain in his forehead to subside then he got dressed, packed his wooden trunk with all his supplies and prepared for the Weasley's arrival. After he was finished, he went down the stairs for breakfast.  
  
"Look who's finally decided to grace us with his royal presence," came the sharp voice of Dudley.  
  
"Erm.......mornin' Harry," Uncle Vernon managed to force out of his mouth. "Have some eggs."  
  
Harry sat down in his usual chair and began serving himself some bacon and eggs. "Vernon, darling," said Aunt Petunia in her high voice. "Little Ickle Dudleykins and I are going out to buy some nice new clothes for the dinner party tonight. Would you like us to buy you anything?"  
  
"What?" Harry said with surprise. "You're having a party? How come I didn't know?"  
  
"Of course we're having a party boy. Now that you're gone for the rest of the summer, we can have all the houseguests we want without you lurking about the house.....No Petunia dear, I won't be needing anything from the store," Uncle Vernon replied. "Now Dudley,......"  
  
But he was cut off short when they all heard a loud honk outside, followed by a knock on the door. Harry began to get out of his chair to answer the door but Uncle Vernon stopped him abruptly, stood up, and made for the front door himself. As soon as he opened it, Harry could hear Mr Weasley's voice. "Hello there, umm....what did you say your name was again??" he asked cheerfully.  
  
"It's Vernon," came his irritated voice.  
  
"Oh, right you are. Well hello Vernon, I suspect you've been treating Harry well? Where is the lad anyway? Not keeping him locked up are you?? (he chuckled) Well I should hope not!!" he paused for a while. Uncle Vernon glared at him with a somewhat subdued fury in his eyes. "Umm.....well," Mr Weasley started again, changing the subject. "Now, these boxes here (pointing to the mail box). What exactly is their function......very curious aren't they," he continued with wonder, opening and closing the lid several times. Mr Weasley was so used to receiving post by owl that seeing the mailbox sparked his curiosity.  
  
In a very agitated tone Uncle Vernon began, "Erm....I....HARRY!!!!! GET OVER HERE NOW!!!!"  
  
Harry was just finishing his orange juice. When he heard Uncle Vernon's yell, he immediately put down his glass and ran out of the kitchen where he found his uncle very red in the face and looking very annoyed.  
  
"Oh, hi there Mr Weasley, how have you been?" Harry said nervously, knowing that his uncle was still behind him and was aware that he didn't like being questioned by wizards about simple objects such as a mailbox. It made him feel uneasy.  
  
"Why, hello there Harry my boy. Good to see you.....my, you've grown quite a bit this summer. You boys just keep getting older by the minute!"  
  
"Is Ron here Mr Weasley?" Harry asked anxiously, wanting to see his friend.  
  
"Of course he's here, he's waiting in the car. Why don't I come in and help you with your stuff and we can be on our way." He stepped through the doorway and into the Dursleys' living room without Uncle Vernon's consent.  
  
Uncle Vernon did not like the idea of him entering his house, as he remembered the last time when the Weasley family had come to his house before through the fireplace. He shuddered remembering how they had left his living room covered in black soot from the fire, and how his son's tongue had been turned long, slimy and purple in colour. However, he thought for the sake of his own family, the sooner Harry left, the better.  
  
It wasn't too long before Mr Weasley was down the stairs, navigating Harry's floating trunk out of the house with his wand, and Harry following close behind holding Hedwig in her cage. "Right.......well, it was good to see you again um..... Vernon," he said as he tipped his hat and walked off to his car with Harry.  
  
Ron, who was sitting in the front passenger seat waved happily to Harry as he passed. Mr Weasley had just finished putting his trunk in the back and opened the back door so that Harry could enter the car. "Well, in you go then Harry," he said and Harry got in, placing Hedwig's cage gently next to him.  
  
"Hi ya Harry," Ron said in his bright, cheerful voice (that became deeper with maturity) as Mr Weasley turned the key to the car.  
  
"Okay everyone.......here we go!" Mr Weasley said. He pulled the car out of the driveway of Number 4 Privet Drive and drove off down the street as Harry watched all the similar square houses slowly disappear into the horizon.  
  
Finally, remembering the vision he'd had last night Harry started to open his mouth to tell Mr Weasley, but thought maybe he'd better not. He didn't want Ron worrying about him for the rest of the summer. He would wait and tell him later, when they were alone. Instead Harry went on to say, "So how is everyone Mr Weasley?"  
  
"Oh they're fine Harry, just fine. I'm sure Ron's told you about Fred and George's shop. And Percy......well every since the Ministry's been back on our side, he's come back home. Molly's delighted......can't tell you how much she's missed him."  
  
"Yea Harry, Percy's back! And he's acting like his old self again!!" Ron contributed, with very little enthusiasm.  
  
They had been talking for a while when Mr Weasley took a turn into the Burrow's driveway. He parked the car and began helping Harry lift his trunk out of the car when Mrs Weasley came running. She looked very upset. "Arthur! Thank heavens you're here!! Moody's just told us that we need to get back to Grimmauld Place right away. The children have already gone by Floo Powder......we've got to hurry." Mr Weasley quickly put Harry's trunk back and got into the driver's seat once again. Ron, who was very confused got in the back with Harry while Mrs Weasley sat in the front.  
  
Mr Weasley quickly pulled out of their driveway and began their swift journey to the secret headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. On the way there, Harry could hear Mr and Mrs Weasley whispering very discreetly. He and Ron were able to catch a few words here and there but most of it did not make much sense, and they knew better than to interrupt them.  
  
Finally, a few minutes later they arrived in the unwelcoming neighbourhood as the secret house appeared out of nowhere. "Now boys," Mrs Weasley began in a very mothering tone. "I want both of you to go up to your rooms straight away and stay there for a while. Hermione will be arriving soon and I'll send her up to meet you."  
  
Following her orders, both Ron and Harry unloaded his belongings out of the car and entered the very grimy household. As they entered, they saw that everything was as it was the last time they were there. As they slowly went up the stairs, they could hear muffled voices in the kitchen. They opened the door to their room, dropped Harry's trunk on the floor and crashed down on their beds.  
  
"Well I wonder what's happened." Ron said with much surprise in his voice. "I mean, the summer's been quite normal........what could've happened that we need to be back here?"  
  
Harry, again remembering his dream thought maybe the Order found out about Lord Voldemort's plot to kill him with the axe. But Harry wondered, what was so different about this axe. Why was it so important to use against Harry instead of just magic? Still not wanting to tell Ron, he kept the dream to himself. Just then there was a knock on the door and in walked a girl with long, bushy brown hair.  
  
"Harry!!" Hermione said with delight to see him. "Good to see you." She rushed in and immediately embraced Harry in a tight hug.  
  
"Oh Hermione.....um..... good to see you too," he said while being literally squeezed by her arms.  
  
"Oh hi Ron, my how you've grown!" she said as she saw Ron.  
  
"Oh.....erm......hi Hermione......um.......you've grown too yourself...." and instead of letting her hug him, he strangely patted her on the back a couple of times.  
  
"Right," she said, taken aback by Ron's odd gesture. "Anyways, what's going on with the Order? Why are we here? I just got an owl this morning telling me to come here instead of the Burrow."  
  
"Well," Ron began, "I reckon something's up with You-Know- Who........something unusual."  
  
"What do you think's going on Harry," Hermione said as she turned to face him. It was as if she knew about Harry's dream.  
  
"Um.....well....." he thought now was the right time to tell them. "Well, I think I know what's going on. Remember how I used to have those dreams?" he asked them.  
  
"Of course Harry.......you were supposed to be blocking them out. I told you, you should be practicing your Occlumency," Hermione said.  
  
"I have been! And besides, I haven't had any strange premonitions lately. It was just last night before Ron came, I guess I was a little excited.....and maybe I forgot to clear my mind before going to sleep," he continued.  
  
"Oh NO Harry, you didn't!" she again interrupted looking very troubled.  
  
"Hermione! Would you just let Harry finish!!" Ron said as she looked stunned at Ron's outburst and she stopped her complaining.  
  
"Well, anyway......I had this dream that Lord Voldemort (Ron shuddered at the name, however Hermione had been used to the name by now) was.....I think at his hideout, and surrounded by a lot of Death Eaters. Then he summoned Wormtail in the room. He was carrying an axe and then Voldemort said that it would be used to kill me!" Harry waited for Hermione or Ron to say something, but they were silent so he continued. "Maybe, Moody wants us here so that there's a better chance that Voldemort won't find me before school starts. Maybe they know about the axe."  
  
Finally Hermione began saying, "Harry, you could be right. I mean that's a very logical explanation. But what if...." but she was cut off by Mrs Weasley's yell, ordering them down for lunch. Not wanting to be late for lunch, the three of them stopped their conversation and went down the stairs joined by Ginny, Fred, George and Percy.  
  
Present at the table were Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, and Tonks and Lupin, who both welcomed Harry and Hermione. After a delicious lunch, prepared by Mrs Weasley, Tonks whispered to Lupin something that Harry could not make out. "Right," Lupin answered her then continued to everyone present at the table. "Now, other than Arthur and Molly, and perhaps Percy, and maybe even you two (he looked at Fred and George who'd probably been listening with their extendable ears) the rest of you are all probably wondering why you're here again." And scattered agreements came around the table as Lupin continued. "Well.......the Order has just found out though our secret source that the Dark Lord has obtained an object that will help him on his path to rule our world."  
  
At the sound of those words, Harry's stomach gave a leap and he looked uneasily at Ron and then Hermione. He knew that they were thinking the same thing. "We don't quite know what the weapon, or object is at the moment," Lupin went on. "That's why we thought it safest if everyone stayed here, under our protection for the rest of the summer.........Now with that out of the way, who wants dessert?" he said as he quickly changed the subject.  
  
The Weasley children, except for Ron didn't seem as upset as they should be, probably because they didn't know what the weapon was, and what it would be used for, so they all agreed for ice cream. But Harry didn't want any. His dream had been right; Voldemort was becoming steps closer. He remembered the prophecy that Dumbledore told him at the end of the school year. He had told no one about it, not even Ron or Hermione. Slowly, Harry began to recall the last part of the ominous words of the foretelling. "Neither can live.....while the other survives." And he thought to himself, "That must be it, Voldemort will be the one to survive not me. I've lasted long enough already, but now, with this axe he'll fulfill the prophecy."

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There, chapter 2 is now complete!! YAY!!!! sigh's in relief lol, please Review if you get the chance! 


	3. The Axe of Slytherin

Just finished Chapter 3!! Thanks "Evie Hallow" (love your pen name! lol) for your review!!! Glad to hear that it was to you LIKING and Thank you for inspiring me to write lol!! Well N E ways......Hope you all enjoy Chapter 3! Review if you like it!!!  
  
_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters_

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**Chapter 3: The Axe of Slytherin**  
  
Slowly, the table began to clear until Harry and Lupin were left alone. Harry glanced at the front page of the Daily Prophet, which Lupin was now beginning to read then said quietly, "Um...can I talk to you for a moment."  
  
Lupin looked up from the paper and turned his attention to Harry. "Sure Harry...what's that matter?"  
  
"Well, you know that thing that you said Voldemort has?" Harry began asking.  
  
"The new secret weapon. Yes, what about it?"  
  
"Is there any chance that it could be...maybe...an axe?" Harry continued.  
  
"An axe?" Lupin said, now more interested in the conversation. "What makes you think it's an axe Harry?"  
  
"Well, remember how I had to take Occlumency lessons from Snape last year...." he looked at Lupin to make sure he was paying attention and once he saw that Lupin was listening Harry continued. "I forgot to clear my mind before I went to sleep last night and I guess I saw that Voldemort has an axe and he's going to use it to kill me." He waited attentively for Lupin's answer.  
  
"Hmm..." Lupin was in deep thought then said, "Harry stay here, I'll be right back." And he got up, went up the stairs and came back with a large, tattered book in his hands. Harry glanced at the cover, which read: Lethal Weapons Concerning the Dark Arts - By Belinda Goldstrottle.  
  
Lupin dropped the book on the table and began flipping through the pages, "Axe...Axe......" he whispered as he searched the book. "A ha! Here we go (pointing to a spot on the page). I believe that the Dark Lord has gotten hold of the legendary Axe of Slytherin. It says here...the Axe of Salazar Slytherin....Similar to the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, the Cross-bow of Rowena Ravenclaw, or the Mace of Helga Hufflepuff, it was the sacred weapon belonging to Slytherin.....Each weapon is said to have special powers, which can only be handed down through their heir. (Lupin paused from reading) that would be Voldemort, (he continued)...The axe itself was hand- crafted by Salazar himself and is said that the blade of the axe can cut through anything with ease....no matter what the target is..."  
  
There was a moment of silence as Harry absorbed all this information. Finally he spoke, "But why wouldn't he just use magic like before?" Harry asked. 

"Well Harry, I'm not really sure about the Dark Lord's plan....but we'll look into it for you. I promise."

"So, if the axe of Slytherin was passed down to his heir, Voldemort....Then that means if Voldemort uses it on me, I'll surely die and the prophecy will be fulfilled." Harry had meant to say all this to himself, but apparently, was heard by Lupin.  
  
"The prophecy," Lupin repeated. "But what do you mean he'll fulfill it?"  
  
"Um....well, the night Sirius died, Dumbledore told me the prophecy that Voldemort had been wanting. He told me that he knew the first part about how the only person who could conquer Lord Voldemort was born 16 years ago at the end of July, to parents who have defied him 3 times. But the part that Voldemort didn't know was that one of us has to die in order for the other to live."  
  
"Oh dear," Lupin said now understanding what Harry was trying to get at. "Voldemort must've found out the last bit somehow...about one of you dying. So he had his minions obtain the axe and now plans to use it to kill you....(he took a long pause) Well don't worry Harry, you're safe here for the rest of the summer and Voldemort can't hurt you at Hogwarts. You'll just have to be extra careful, that's all."  
  
"So what is the Order going to do about it?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, we'll just have to see.... Now Harry, I want you to continue practicing Occlumency. Just because you found out some secrets of the Dark Lord, doesn't mean that it's a good thing. Okay?"  
  
"Okay," Harry answered, a little annoyed. Ever since the return of the Dark Lord, everyone had been treating Harry like a child, always telling him what to do. However, he respected Lupin, and didn't object to his command.  
  
"Now, why don't you go up to your room." Lupin told him and with that, Harry left Lupin sitting at the table and went up the stairs to rejoin Ron and Hermione. He opened the door to his room and found everyone except for Percy sitting on the beds and a flesh coloured strand coming out of Fred's ear. He had apparently been listing in on his and Lupin's conversation.  
  
"Oh, sorry mate," Fred said as he saw Harry enter. "Couldn't help myself." And he quickly got rid of the extendible ear.  
  
Ginny cut in, "Is it really true Harry? All of it?"  
  
"Ginny, leave him alone!" Ron said, defending Harry's privacy.  
  
"It's okay Ron," Harry said. "You all know anyways, so yes, it's true."  
  
"Don't worry about it Harry," George said now contributing to the conversation. "I'm sure Lupin's informing the Order right as we speak and is figuring out what to do."  
  
"Yea," Harry said, really wanting to believe what George had said yet, something kept telling him otherwise.  
  
They all remained in Ron and Harry's room for a while and soon became engaged in a lengthy conversation about some of Fred and George's new experiments for their shop. Including a new candy that would turn it's taster invisible momentarily, however, Fred and George said that they still had to work out some defects.  
  
The rest of the day was long and tiresome, with the hot August sun beating down through the windows of the house. It was almost dinner time now and Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione were still in the bedroom now watching Harry and Ron compete in a miniature Wizard Chess tournament.  
  
They heard footsteps coming up the stairs and minutes later, Mrs Weasley's head popped through the door. "Why, everyone's all in here," she said with surprise. "I've brought you all something to eat. You can't go downstairs at the moment though," she brought in a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of pumpkin juice. "The Order and Ministry are having a meeting downstairs in the kitchen so you'll have to stay up here for a while...and behave!" She said turning her head towards the twins, closed the door behind her and headed back down.  
  
"Erm......Wonder what they're going...... to decide to do," Fred said, grabbing a sandwich and stuffing it down his mouth.  
  
"I don't know, but I bet mum's bewitched the door again so we can't listen in!" Ginny added, also taking a sandwich for herself.  
  
"CHECKMATE!" Ron suddenly yelled, he had obviously defeated Harry at their game and was now looking very proudly around the room for his audience, shocked to see that no one had seen his victorious chess piece smash Harry's to bits.  
  
"That's it Ron, knew you could win," came the negligent voice of Hermione. Everyone but Harry and Ron were now digging into Mrs Weasley's sandwiches, not seeming to care about the game anymore.  
  
Realizing that there might not be any more sandwiches left, Harry and Ron pushed their way through to the tray of food and managed to scrounge up four sandwiches each and a glass of pumpkin juice, and began eating.

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Well there you go! Chapter 4 will be coming soon!! Luv Ya!!! Don't 4-get to Reveiw 


	4. Geminus and Gemellus

Hi again!! Keep reading my story and Reveiw please!! Thanks! Here's Chapter 4!!! I changed it a little from my original.....I still don't like it very much though but I guess I'll have to learn to live with it.

_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters_

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**Chapter 4: Geminus and Gemellus**  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins were well finished with their food by the time Mrs Weasley had come upstairs again. "Well dears," she said to them kindly. "The meeting's over now, you can come down....I think Alastor wishes to talk to you all anyways."  
  
All 6 of them instantly stood up and crammed through the doorway as they were eagerly awaiting an explanation from any member of the Order. They ran down the stairs and found Mad-Eye Moody waiting for them at the table with Tonks.  
  
"Argh," Moody groaned when he saw them. "Sit down...all of you." They all took seats around the table. "Now what I'm about to tell you is very important."  
  
Tonks cut in, "And since all of you have been through a lot lately, we've decided that it would be best if you knew."  
  
Moody continued, "And we thought you would figure out the truth sooner or later," his magical eye spinning around wildly and Harry knew that it was examining the guilty faces of Fred and George. "Now, as you all know, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is indeed back and his only goal is to get rid of Harry. He has acquired what he thinks is the only weapon needed to do the job..."  
  
"The axe of Slytherin," Tonks interrupted again.  
  
"And what is so special about this axe?" Ginny asked as if all this was new to her.  
  
"Well, the axe of Slytherin is a very powerful tool that can only be wielded by Slytherin's heir, that being You-Know-Who," Tonks began then continued. "This weapon is so magical that it never misses its target.....EVER!"  
  
"And in this case, that means Harry" Moody growled, his real eye looking straight at him.  
  
Everyone tried to put confused and upset looks on their faces, to show that they had not been eaves dropping, yet Harry had a feeling that Moody's magical eye could see right through their false act, but he continued speaking.  
  
"Now the Order and the Ministry are doing the best they can to hopefully get rid of the Dark Lord, but the number of his followers has grown quite rapidly and it's getting fairly difficult to accomplish such a task," Moody said earnestly. "We plan to send our secret spies over, to obtain some more information so that we can begin forming a plan about what exactly we're going to do.....we also need to find out the exact reason why You-Know-Who has decided to use this axe instead of a dark spell."  
  
"In the mean time," Tonks added, "We need all of you to lie low, and keep yourselves busy...we don't need extra distractions on our hands."  
  
"Oh, all right," groaned Fred disappointedly who seemed to be ready for action.  
  
But Harry was not okay. "What? So Lord Voldemort is going to kill me, and I can't do anything about it?" he objected.  
  
"Well Harry, he's not going after you just yet," Tonks said, trying to comfort him, "and we need you to stay as very little involved as possible. We can't risk anything." Harry knew what she meant. He always managed to get involved in situations that were beyond his capabilities and found it very hard to just stand back and let things happen.  
  
"That's right, and besides, I reckon that he's still buying time to build up his power," Moody added. "He wouldn't attack right away......no, he'll attack when least expected.....(he cleared his throat) well, I suppose that's all we have to tell you right now, so you can all head back up to your rooms and get a good night's rest."  
  
With that said, all six of them slowly stood up and filed up the stairs. They all had disappointed looks on their faces. None of them were permitted to help out the Order, not even Harry. Harry thought to himself, "Great, so I guess I'll just wait helplessly for Voldemort to come get me, and that's it....my life'll be over."  
  
Over the whole month of August, Harry and Ron kept themselves busy by playing games of wizard chess. Harry even tried to introduce to Ron the concept of playing cards. "No, that's not possible," Ron said very amused. "You can play games with those pieces of card?" he had a puzzled, childish look on his face as he began examining the Queen of hearts very thoroughly. Hermione on the other hand continued her attempt to knit scarves and hats for the house elves at Hogwarts.  
  
"Speaking of house elves......where's Kreacher?" Ron said, remembering the grumpy house elf belonging to the Black family.  
  
"Oh, I bet he's around here somewhere," Hermione suggested, now examining her knitting job on a miniature sweater she'd just finished. Her knitting skills improved a great amount over the summer and the sweater appeared to be almost flawless.  
  
"Okay Ron, so we both get 5 cards each," Harry instructed, attempting to teach Ron how to play Go Fish. Ron, still very fascinated, began to slowly draw 5 cards from the pile.  
  
Suddenly, a loud crash came from the corner of the room. All three of them gave bewildered looks at each other before carefully making their way towards where the sound had come from. The garbage bin had been turned over and bits of garbage were scattered all over the floor. In addition to that, one of the glass picture frames hanging on the wall had been knocked to the ground, and on the floor lay several shards of glass. It took them a while to realize what had caused the racket but then they noticed two creatures standing amid the whole mess.  
  
The two beings were no taller that a foot high and were completely identical in appearance. Their furry faces were a powdered white colour with a small, round, velvety black nose. Their eyes were bright and had much curiosity in them. Their mane-like hair was a shade of light blue and they wore bright, red jumpers, covering their entire body.  
  
Not aware that they were being watched, they continued rummaging through the garbage apparently looking for something, whispering as they moved through the mess like two little squirrels.  
  
Ron cleared his throat to make their presence known and the two little animals looked up at the towering humans watching them. He reached out to pick them up by their collars and they kicked and squirmed in Ron's grasp.  
  
"Put us down......put us down." They demanded. Ron finally released his grip as he dropped the two struggling creatures on his bed.  
  
"Who are you, and what do you think you're doing in our room?" he asked sternly.  
  
There was a long pause as they repositioned their selves from being dropped before they answered. "Good wishes to you humans, I am Gemellus," one of the creatures answered with a large, cheesy grin on his face.  
  
"And I am Geminus," replied the other also smiling. 

"That's great," Harry said. "But what exactly are you?"

The two creatures stared at him with eyes wide opened at the thought of him not knowing. "You do not know?" they both asked in unison as if it should be obvious to Harry as to what they were.

"Umm....sorry, no." Harry responded, still clueless.

"We are part of a large family of similar creatures and we were sent on a mission by our leader....if we do not return with what he asks for then I'm am afraid that we may become banished from the tribe forever."

After a long pause of silence, Geminus and Gemellus jumped off the bed and returned back to the garbage mess in the corner. Harry walked over to the two, who were beginning to search through the clutter again. "Um, so what exactly are you looking for?"

Geminus looked up at Harry for the first time and gaped at the scar on his forehead. "Why, Mr Harry Potter, I did not realize that it's.....it's you!" he ran from the garbage and wrung his arms around the calf of Harry's leg with joy. Gemellus, also ceased his rummaging and went to join his identical friend by hugging Harry's remaining leg.

Harry looked to Hermione for help, but she merely shrugged her shoulders to show that she had no idea on what to do. Finally, before she could suggest anything they let go of their embrace and began talking again.  
  
"Harry Potter, we did not realize it was you. We are quite honoured to be in the presence of such greatness.

"Oh," Harry said and again asked, "So what are you looking for?"  
  
"Well, Mr Potter, our Leader describes these items of which we speak of as being like beans with many different flavours," Geminus answered with his squeaky voice. "And if we do not return with them, he will be greatly angered."  
  
Ron cut in, "Oh.....you mean Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans?....well you're not gonna find those in the garbage."  
  
The twins looked stunned at the fact that their search through the garbage had been a waste of time. They dropped to the floor and began weeping loudly.  
  
"No, shh," Ron said. "Don't cry." He walked over to his dresser and opened a drawer, pulled out a box and emptied it onto the floor in front of the crying animals. "Here," he said.  
  
They looked up and immediately a wide smile came onto their face. "Why good master, you have presented us with a pile of the very special beans that we are looking for. We are very grateful to you." They began picking up the different beans and stuffed them into their small pockets.  
  
"Well, we must leave you now kind humans," Geminus said. "We thank you greatly for supplying us with countless beans, our leader will be pleased......we are eternally in your debt." However, before leaving, the two of them cleaned up the mess that they had made on the floor of the bedroom, then they ran over to the window and struggled with their bulky pockets before jumping out of the window and running off into the street.

To Harry, Ron and Hermione's surprise, when they approached the corner, even the broken picture frame had been repaired and laid in the corner of the room, waiting for someone to return it to its rightful position on the wall.  
  
"That was strange," Hermione said astounded. "I don't seen to remember ever reading about creatures like those before. And how did they manage to fix this frame?" she asked as she picked it up and hung it back on the wall.  
  
"Yea," agreed Harry. "But I wonder what they meant by they're eternally in our debt."  
  
The thought of death again arose in Harry's thoughts, 'Would he even see the two identical looking animals again?' or would his life end so quickly that he'd never see anything again. Concluding his dismal notion, he returned back to his bed and continued teaching Ron how to play cards, who was waiting eagerly for the rest of his lesson.

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Well, that was maybe a little confusing lol.....Well Review and tell me what you think about this chapter and be nice!! 

Oh yea.....I am aware that JK Rowling has already mentioned in the 1st book that Ron in fact owns his own deck of self-shuffling playing cards. This would then make what I have written in this chapter false.....I appologize to all you hardcore HP fans out there who caught this mistake (if any)!! Well bye for now!


	5. Sirius’ Last Words

Hey there again! Well, hope you liked chapter 4! Here's chapter 5!! Thanks to HP Rules, Gkey, and Freaky for you reviews! I really appreciate it!!!  
  
_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters._

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**Chapter 5: Sirius' Last Words  
**  
The remaining days before returning to Hogwarts were long and dreary as the members of the Order slipped in and out of Grimmauld Place, only staying for meals. Everyone was busier than usual and it made Harry feel useless that he couldn't do anything to help out the Order.  
  
Harry was lying on his bed thinking when the door burst open. "They're here Harry," came Ron's cheerful voice. "Our supplies list......mum said she'll be going to Diagon Alley to pick it all up for us.....let's see, we'll need a few new books this year but that's all."  
  
"That's great Ron," Harry said very glumly.  
  
"What's the matter?" Ron asked, concerned about his friend.  
  
"Oh, it's just that everyone says I'll be safe at Hogwarts, safe from Voldemort's reach. But have they forgotten about when he tried to attack me in the 1st year through Professor Quirrel or when he nearly killed your sister in the 2nd year, and let's not forget the 4th year when he killed Cedric and nearly got me too...... I'm not sure that Hogwarts is such a safe place to be."  
  
"Come on Harry! Lighten up!!" Ron encouraged. "You're just being paranoid. Besides, Dumbledore'll probably have more security this year....you'll see."  
  
"I suppose you're right Ron," Harry gave a slight smile.  
  
"That's more like it, now come on, let's go join Hermione and Ginny in the kitchen. They're helping to prepare dinner....maybe we can sneak a few pieces of food." Ron was nearly drooling over the thought of eating something.  
  
Hermione was busy peeling potatoes and Ginny had just put a tray of food in the oven for baking. Kreacher, who had finally decided to show up, was busying himself by sweeping around the kitchen. Harry had sat down in a nearby chair, but Ron was lurking by the counter, carefully eyeing the pieces of chicken wings that were already cooked. His hand reached out to grab one, but Hermione quickly slapped his hand to prevent him from stealing food.  
  
"OW HERMIONE!! What'd you do that for? I was just gonna have one!" Ron said while rubbing his throbbing hand.  
  
"Well, it was for your own good! You shouldn't be taking food like that. You have to wait like everyone else." 

Ron, very disappointed went to go sit down next to Harry.  
  
Kreacher, who was now sweeping the area right in front of Harry was mumbling words under his breath. "Oh, if only Mistress could see Kreacher now. She would be furious....Kreacher, sweeping the floor for these half- breeds! Disgusting!!"  
  
When he saw Harry though, it was like a light went off in the little house elf's mind. He turned his face to speak to Harry with a naughty grin on his face. "Mistress' son has told Kreacher the night before he died to tell Mr Potter something." And he walked off into a corner and began sweeping again. His intent was to not tell Harry what Sirius had said, but to start some mischief and hopefully make Harry angry.  
  
Harry who hadn't been paying attention to Kreacher's words until now, was very interested in what he'd just said. "Kreacher," he began in a pleasant voice so as to not set off the house elf's anger. "Tell me, what did Sirius tell you?"  
  
"Kreacher does not know if it is in his best interest to tell Mr Harry Potter....No, Kreacher thinks it best that Mr Potter not know his godfather's last words."  
  
"Kreacher, you can tell me......what did Sirius say," the elf was driving Harry's patience.  
  
"No, Kreacher will not say, he mustn't say. Mistress would be very displeased." The elf continued playing with Harry's emotions.  
  
Harry stood from his chair and crossed over to where the house elf was now sweeping. Hermione, Ron and Ginny were watching him very attentively. He reached down and grabbed Kreacher by his neck.  
  
"Now listen here you filthy house elf," Harry began yelling.  
  
"Harry, please don't," Hermione said, standing up for Kreacher.  
  
"I'm sorry Hermione, but he has something to say and he won't spit it out!........Kreacher, you better tell me or else you'll be sorry."  
  
Kreacher was now whimpering in fear. He did not expect that Harry would threaten him so fiercely. "If you put Kreacher down, he will tell you everything," he said in a shaky tone. Harry released him roughly and dropped him of the floor.  
  
The house elf let out a deep sigh before speaking. "Mr Harry Potter, before the night Sirius died, he told Kreacher to tell you that if anything happened to him that night.....Kreacher was to tell you....." He drifted off.  
  
"Tell me what?" Harry pressed him on.  
  
"I do not know how to say this....it is best I show you.....follow Kreacher." He dropped his small, battered broom and made for the kitchen door. Harry motioned for Ron to follow and the two of them exited the kitchen, following the house elf.  
  
He led them up the stairs and to a door that Harry or Ron had never seen before. Kreacher took out a large, golden key and put it in the keyhole before opening the door.  
  
Before them was a large ragged bed in the middle of the room. Off to the side was a wooden desk and hanging on the walls were numerous pictures of Harry. They walked in the room and Harry stared at all the pictures of himself.  
  
"Kreacher, what is this room?" Ron asked with curiosity.  
  
Kreacher gave him a dirty look before replying. "This, you ugly human, was Master Sirius' quarters. He told me that I should bring Mr. Potter here for some reason if anything ever happened to him.....Now if you don't mind, Kreacher must leave you and resume his cleaning, or else Mistress will be mad with him for helping you dirty half-breeds." And he ran out of the room.  
  
"Harry," Ron said in awe. "Look at this place......he's got pictures of you everywhere!"  
  
"Yea," Harry agreed. "But why would he want Kreacher to show me this....it's not like I haven't seen pictures of myself before." He began walking around the room. When he reached the desk he found an envelope addressed to him. "Ron, look. It's a letter for me."  
  
"Well what are you waiting for mate, open it!!"  
  
Harry tore open to envelope and started reading the letter.  
  
_Dear Harry,  
  
Hopefully Kreacher took my orders and took you to my room, that stubborn little weasel. By the time you read this letter, I'll probably be gone. I'm sorry, but I guess it was for the best. At least I died while I was protecting you, that's the important part. I wanted to talk to you before I went, to tell you some things..... Harry, you're a wonderful boy, and you're growing so quickly, getting to know you was really a pleasure, I just wish it could've been longer. Remember to always stay brave and never lose your will to keep going. You've fought so many battles in your life, more than anyone ever should. If your father could see you now, he'd be darn right proud, as am I. Say hi to Lupin for me and tell him to look after you now that I'm gone.  
  
Love Always,  
  
Sirius  
  
P.S. I left something in the envelope for you....thought it might be useful.  
_  
Tears were falling from Harry's eyes as he looked in the envelope for what Sirius had left him. He reached in and pulled out a small mirror. It was the other side of the mirror that Sirius had given him last year as a way of communicating to each other. "But what good is it now if he's dead?" Harry thought to himself.  
  
He also found included in the envelope was a small picture of Sirius, standing next to Harry's parents, with him as a baby in his mother's arms. Sirius was young and looked very neat. It was a beautiful picture and he felt a surge of joy sweep over his body as even more tears flowed from his damp eyes.  
  
Remembering that Ron was still in the room with him, Harry quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. "Come on Ron, let's get out of here." And he led the way out of the bedroom.  
  
Shortly afterwards, they were called down for the last meal before heading off to school the next day. It was a pleasant meal. Everyone put their thoughts about Voldemort's return aside and concentrated on enjoying their last meal. Harry had never eaten so much food in his life, but for some reason, he felt very hungry that night.  
  
"So Harry, what did Kreacher show you?" Hermione now asked.  
  
Harry swallowed his mouthful of food before replying. "Oh, he took me to Sirius' room where he left a letter for me."  
  
"Oh," she said. "Harry, are you okay?" she asked, understanding that Harry might be feeling a little depressed at the moment.  
  
"Yea, Hermione. I'm okay," Harry replied with a small smile remembering the picture that Sirius had left for him. "Thanks though."  
  
That night, before going to bed, Harry searched his trunk for the photo album that Hagrid had given and inserted the picture in one of the blank pages. He could feel his eyes watering up, but restrained himself from crying. Sirius and his parents were waving happily at him, their eyes were full of love and joy.  
  
Harry closed his eyes on his pillow. For the first time in a long time, his heart felt less burdened by everything going on around him. The picture had given a sense of serenity to see the people he'd lost staring up at him happily. At last, he cleared his mind of all his thoughts before finally drifting off to sleep.

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What a touching chapter. Hope everyone liked it! Keep reading and remember to review! Thanks! 


	6. Board the Hogwarts Express

Hey everyone! Keep the reviews comin' lol!! Hopefully the story's getting interesting. I can't stop writing considering my summer's really BORING!!! It's Sooo addicting! LOL!  
  
Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed my story!! I dedicate this chapter to you!..... Moonkitty, (I'm happy that you're reading and liking my story!! It was fate I guess ) And Kelly/Evie....your very uplifting words have truly been an inspiration.....and remember, you're #1 in my book!!!  
  
_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters._

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**Chapter 6: Board the Hogwarts Express**  
  
The next morning was hectic and confusing with everyone preparing to leave. As soon as every person had finished eating breakfast, Mr. Weasley helped Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny load their trunks into the car. Before departing, everyone gathered out into the street in front of number 12 Grimmauld Place for their final good byes.  
  
"Well, see you later Ron," Fred said to his brother, giving him a pat on the back then turning to Harry. "Stir up some trouble for us won't you?......and here," he was now whispering so his mother couldn't hear. "Take some of these."  
  
George was now subtly handing Harry a few bags of the colour-coded candies from their Skiving Snackboxes idea. "Yea, sell 'em for us, and you can keep some for yourself too." He winked and returned his voice to a normal volume. "Well, stay out of trouble now Harry."  
  
It was now Lupin's turn to say his farewell. He gently laid his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, don't worry about anything okay? The Order will handle everything and remember, if you ever need anything, I'm here for you."  
  
"Thanks.....Oh wait" Harry said with a smile and remembering something. He reached in his jean pocket and pulled out the other mirror that Sirius had left for him. "Here, Sirius gave this to me so we could communicate to each other with out being spied on. I have the other one, maybe we can use it.....if I need to talk to you."  
  
"This is great Harry," Lupin answered genuinely as he inserted it into the inside pocket of his robe.  
  
"Well, is everyone ready to leave?" Mr. Weasley asked brightly looking around at his passengers. "We best be getting in the car if we want to make it on time."  
  
Slowly, Hermione, Ginny, Ron and finally Harry seated themselves in the back of Mr. Weasley's car and Mrs. Weasley sat in the front. With the turn of the key, the car was off in the direction of King's Cross station.  
  
Once through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, Mr and Mrs Weasley helped the children load their belongings onto the train. Soon after Mrs Weasley became close to tears as she pulled out a handkerchief and blew her nose harshly into it.  
  
Ron's face was a slight shade of red from embarrassment. "Mum, you don't have to cry, people are staring at us." He was noticing a crowd of 2nd year students watching them with amusement.  
  
"Oh my little Ronald, my how you've grown in the past 6 years.....You're becoming such a young little gentleman." She managed to say in between sobs. "And you to Ginny, you're a Prefect just like your brothers. Come here and hug your Mummy, both of you." Not giving her children a chance to escape the moment of affection, Mrs. Weasley quickly wrapped her arms around Ron and Ginny so tightly that they were gasping for air.  
  
From inside Mrs. Weasley's strangling arms Ron managed to say with surprise, "Ginny, I didn't know you've been selected to be a Prefect."  
  
Ginny, with much effort to be heard from within her mother's grasp replied, "I know.....I didn't tell anyone.....except for Mum and Dad.....and I told them not to make such a big deal out of it."  
  
"And they actually listened to you?" Ron asked rather appalled.  
  
"I guess so."  
  
Mr. Weasley cleared his throat. "Molly, we better leave the kids....they've got to get on the train now."  
  
Mrs. Weasley finally managed to pry her arms away from her suffocating children, "Right.....silly me, bawling over nothing.....well you two," talking to Ron and Ginny. "Behave yourselves. Hermione, do make sure Ron stays out of trouble for me."  
  
"Of course Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said as she chuckled slightly.  
  
Mrs. Weasley continued, "And Harry dear, don't worry too much about You-Know-Who. The Ministry and the Order are taking care of things." She turned to him and gave him a hug, though it was not as tight as the one she'd given her own children. "Well Arthur.....I suppose we better let these children get on the train." She dried her eyes and returned to her usual cheery state.  
  
After all four of them had found a compartment to sit in, they all looked out the window and waved to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as the train began to speed off until finally they were just two tiny dots standing in the distance.  
  
Once settled down Hermione turned to Ginny, "Congratulations on becoming Prefect!....." obviously, she had been listening to every word that had been said before boarding the train.  
  
"Yea Ginny, you didn't have to keep it from us though," Harry added.  
  
"I know," Ginny replied sheepishly. "But I didn't want Fred or George making fun of me like they did to Ron."  
  
"Ahh," Ron sighed. "They wouldn't have made fun of you.....they just like to annoy me, being their younger brother and all."  
  
"Oh well, you know I'm a Prefect now.....so it doesn't matter....I wonder who Dumbledore chose to be the other."  
  
"Who knows," Ron said. Then, changing the topic, he asked with much curiosity in his voice, "What was with mum? She's never cried like that before when we left for Hogwarts,"  
  
"I don't really know Ron," Ginny replied. "I think she just thought of the fact that you'll soon be leaving school and it got to her. Plus I bet she doesn't want us to end up like Fred and George.....you know, leaving school before finishing our 7th year to open our own shop." They all laughed, remembering the twins' successful escape they'd made last year.  
  
Shortly, Ginny, Ron and Hermione left to join the other Prefects in patrolling the train and Harry was left all alone. Before long, the food cart was making its way around the train. When it reached Harry, he purchased himself a few Chocolate Frogs, a Pumpkin Pasty, and pumpkin juice.  
  
Harry was reading the Wizard card that he'd just got. It read: _IGNATIA WILDSMITH 1227 - 1320, Witch who invented Floo Powder_. Suddenly, the sound of the door sliding open came and Harry looked to see who'd come to join him. "Hello Harry," a blonde 5th year girl was now standing in the opening.  
  
"Hi Luna," Harry said, "Want to sit down?"  
  
"Sure," she replied with her pale eyes staring out the window as if searching for some kind of strange activity.  
  
"So how've you been," Harry inquired. He looked out of the window to see what was intriguing her so much and was disappointed to find that there was nothing, although he should have known to expect this since Luna was what most people would called ODD.  
  
It took her a while to escape her bemusing state before replying in her usual dreamly voice. "I've been good. Me and my dad went to Sweden and tried to catch a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."  
  
"Oh, yes. I remember you told me about that last year. How was it?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well we didn't get to see any Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, but my dad said it was just because they were hiding."  
  
"Right," Harry said in a disbelieving tone.  
  
Luna slipped back into her perplexed condition, pulled out a copy of her favourite magazine, The Quibbler, and began reading it. Harry, not wanting to disturb her reading returned to the pile of food he'd purchased and had just opened another box of Chocolate Frogs when Ron, Hermione and Ginny returned from their rounds.  
  
"Oh, hello Luna," Hermione said surprised. Luna merely looked up at her, smiled then resumed her in-depth reading.  
  
"Good, you're back!" Harry said happily. "Have something to eat."  
  
Ron, Ginny, and Hermione had just taken a seat when the door slid open again. "Hello everyone," came the cool voice of Draco Malfoy followed by the loud footsteps of his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle coming to join him.  
  
"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry asked, knowing that he was up to no good.  
  
"Oh Potter.....can't I come and say hello to my fellow students without wanting to cause trouble?" he said with a rather stunned tone. "I just wanted to tell Weasley here, that I wished I had a mother who cared so much about me."  
  
Ron interrupted, "What do you mean Malfoy?"  
  
Draco began imitating Ron's mother when she had been crying earlier. "Oh my little Ronnykins, my how you've grown. Such a fine young gentleman," Crabbe and Goyle were laughing.  
  
Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Ginny beat him to it. "Well, at least we have a mum that cares about us!" she said defensively. "It's not hard to notice that you were a VERY neglected child when you were younger....That's why you need all this attention."  
  
Malfoy stared at Ginny coldly. "You better watch it Weasley.....I'm a Prefect!"  
  
"So," Ginny replied unimpressed. "I'm one too, and if you ever insult my family again, I'll have you in detention before you can say Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans."  
  
He gave Ginny an even colder stare before saying, "Crabbe.....Goyle, let's get out of here, all this filth back here is making me sick!" He just stormed out of their carriage, with Crabbe and Goyle following behind him.  
  
"Great job Ginny!" Harry praised her. Ginny was now looking very proud of herself. Ron on the other hand, sulked into his seat.  
  
"I could've handled it you know," he said glumly.  
  
"Yea, I know Ron," Ginny answered. "But I just hate it when he talks about our family that way."  
  
"I suppose," Ron replied, feeling a bit better. "Did you see his face when he found out you were a Prefect too!" Ron started laughing as he impersonated Malfoy's distorted face.  
  
"Oh, look at the time!" Hermione interrupted as she glanced down at her watch. "We better get into our robes, we'll be arriving at Hogwarts in a little while."  
  
Just as Hermione had said, the train soon pulled into the Hogsmeade station and slowly screeched to a halt. Everyone piled out of the train, into the sea confusion as they all rushed in the direction of the castle.  
  
"Firs' years over here!" came the booming voice of Hagrid as he called the first year students to him. "Over here!" He towered over every single person in the station. "Firs' years! Watch your step now!"  
  
Harry saw the scrawny, little first years scramble over to Hagrid with nervous looks on their faces. It reminded him of when he had just come to Hogwarts. He was young and carefree; he had very little knowledge of this new world that had just been introduced to him, nor did he know that his life would change forever.  
  
Harry and his friends made their way to the carriages that would bring them to the entrance of the grand castle. "I'm back again," Harry thought to himself. "But it could very well be my last." He seemed so certain that something horrifying was awaiting him in the castle, waiting to finally strike.

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Well there you go! Another chapter done! Lots more to come! Please remember to review!


	7. LongTerm Visitors

Hi again to everyone who's been following my story!! I am really Glad to here that everyone's enjoying the story! Thanks again for your insightful reviews.......General Failure: (OMG I totally 4got that he broke the other mirror--oops.....oh well, I'll think of something! Thanks though!)  
  
I hope you enjoy this chapter! I wrote the sorting hat's song myself (it's about the only good thing in this chapter.....I think.......well maybe not). The song's not as long or as good as the wonderful J.K.'s, but I tried! Enjoy!  
  
I am dedicating this chapter to my sister, Tamara, for it is through her creative thinking that this chapter was brought into the making.  
  
_Disclaimer: I am not J.R. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters. However, I do take claim for the Sorting Hat's song in this chapter!!_

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**Chapter 7: Long-Term Visitors**  
  
The Great Hall was now full of the excited chatter of students eagerly awaiting the Sorting Hat Ceremony. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at their table surrounded by their fellow Gryffindors, who were also awaiting the moment when Professor McGonagall would lead the row of anxious first years into the dimly lit, yet elegant Great Hall.  
  
Soon, the side door opened and one by one, the first year students filed their way to the front of the hall. Their eyes were full of fright, not knowing what was in store for them. All eyes were glued to Professor McGonagall as she placed the old, tattered sorting hat on the little stool. The first years were awe stricken as they soon realized that the rip near the hat's brim began to move and instantaneously broke into its annual start of the year song.  
  
_Oh I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
Though I may look quite old,  
Yet in all truth I'm very wise,  
Vast answers I behold._

_I am the only hat, you know  
That sorts the first year students.  
There is no finer hat than I  
For my answers are most prudent. _

_Great Gryffindor, and Slytherin  
Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff.  
Which house will you be in?  
You'll find out soon enough.  
  
I choose by looking deep inside  
Your body, mind and soul.  
Putting you in the proper house  
Is my one true goal.  
  
The brave reside in Gryffindor,  
While Slytherin's blood is pure,  
Intelligent are the Ravenclaws  
And Hufflepuffs are quite demure.  
  
But before I sort you in your house  
I warn you all once again,  
United we stand, divided we fall  
Or Hogwarts soon will end  
  
So set me on your little head  
And on this stool you'll rest,  
As I the noble Sorting Hat  
Will put your mind to the test._  
  
The Great Hall erupted in a loud burst of applause as everyone began to clap, regardless of the fact that the Sorting Hat had again warned everyone sitting in the hall that the houses should come together and set aside their differences. Neither Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff were willing to stand on the same level as Slytherin, nor did Slytherin want to befriend them under any circumstances.  
  
Shortly after, Professor McGonagall signaled for silence to begin the actual ceremony. Once the hall was calm and quiet, she then called the first student forward to be sorted. "Leanna Aberfoyle!" All eyes were now turned to see a rather skinny girl with long brownish-red hair emerge from the line of first years, sit down, and place the old hat over her head.  
  
It was not too long before the hat roared out his very decisive decision. "RAVENCLAW!!"  
  
A loud outbreak of applause could be heard coming from the direction of the Ravenclaw table. As Harry watched the young first year girl timidly make her way there, his eye managed to catch a glimpse of Cho Chang sitting next to her most recent boyfriend, Michael Corner.  
  
Harry could feel his stomach lurch. Her face was the image of perfection and her long, black hair shimmered in the dim lights of the beautiful hall. It was apparent that his feelings for her had returned........and it was because of his ignorance that he had lost her, maybe even forever. "It's all my fault," he thought to himself recalling their first and last date ever.  
  
All she needed was someone to help her through the hardships of the death of her former boyfriend. Harry thought of how she had cried at even the slightest notion of Cedric and how he never really seemed to care. Giving up all hope of being with Cho, Harry let out a long sigh and turned his head back to the sorting ceremony to catch the final girl get sorted into her house.  
  
"Annabelle Wood!" Professor McGonagall called out. A small, brown-haired girl with beautiful nut-brown eyes was now making her way slowly to the stool. Sitting down with the Sorting Hat covering her entire face, she waited as the hat made his crucial assessment.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!!" it finally yelled.  
  
Harry joined in the clapping as the little girl made her way happily over to their table, and sat down next to Hermione and the other new members. She had been the 9th and final addition to the Gryffindor house, and as she stared around with marvel at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, Harry began to notice that her face seemed rather familiar, yet he didn't know why.  
  
Once Professor McGonagall had cleared the floor, Dumbledore stood up and all attention was turned to him. "Good evening everyone.........I will not make my start of the year speech just yet. But before our dinner appears, I want to take the opportunity now to introduce to all of you a 6th year student who has decided stay with us here at Hogwarts on a one-year internship program at his own school, the Katherine Cackles Wizarding Academy."  
  
"Whoa, that's the wizard boarding school........only the smartest and richest wizarding children ever get accepted there," Ron was exclaiming his amazement to Harry. Harry had never heard of this school before and was surprised to hear that there even was such a place.  
  
Dumbledore continued, "His name is Artemis Maximus the Third and I believe he has been previously selected to be in the Gryffindor house by the Sorting Hat prior to the First-Year Sorting Ceremony.........He will be residing in Gryffindor for the duration of the year.......Artemis would you please rise so that everyone here may be aware of your presence."  
  
A boy stood up from the end of the Gryffindor table where no one had even paid attention to him being there. He was average in height for a boy around the age of 16 with short, dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He smiled and waved as everyone clapped to acknowledge his stay at Hogwarts.  
  
Dumbledore spoke again. "Artemis, I hope your stay here will be most enjoyable......Well, with that out of the way, I believe we are all quite famished so let the feast begin."  
  
The food magically appeared on the table and everyone dug into the magnificent array of delectable dishes that had been prepared by the house elves. There were plates of honey-glazed ham and piles of mouth watering pork chops. There was so much food to choose from that Harry had difficulty on deciding where to start.  
  
Harry, after long deliberation, helped himself to a piece of roasted chicken and a spoonful of mashed potatoes with gravy as he looked up at the head table. All the teachers were already enjoying their meal and engaging themselves in pleasant conversations with one another. Hagrid also seemed busied in his own discussion with--who Harry realized must be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.  
  
He was a man dressed in dark burgundy robes with short black hair. He looked around the age of 30 and wore black, thick-framed glasses with square lenses. Every now and then, Hagrid would take a large drink out of his goblet, only to return to what seemed to Harry, a very fascinating conversation.  
  
Abandoning the idea of getting the attention of his giant friend, Harry turned his head back to his own table and began eating from his plate of food.  
  
"Hey, aren't you Oliver Wood's sister?" Harry heard Ron ask and he immediately turned his head to see whom his friend was questioning. The small little girl seated next to Hermione was now looking at Ron. Harry now realized why she'd seemed so familiar to him. She had a slight resemblance to his former win-craving Quidditch captain who'd long left Hogwarts.  
  
The girl swallowed the food in her mouth before replying. "Yes, I'm his younger sister, Annabelle," she said shyly.  
  
"That's a pretty name," Hermione complimented kindly. "I'm Hermione, and that's........"  
  
"Harry Potter!" Annabelle interrupted, not sounding as shy anymore. "My brother always talks about you........how you're one of the best seekers he's ever seen." Her brown eyes stared admiringly up at Harry.  
  
Harry laughed, "Well your brother wasn't so bad either........he was a little crazy sometimes, but he was a good captain." He remembered how Wood would stop at nothing to win the Quidditch cup before leaving Hogwarts.....not even a rogue bludger, or a bunch of Dementors would stand in his way.  
  
Ron changing the subject, began to speak again, "Hey guys, what's with the new kid, Artemis?.......we've never had a transfer student before."  
  
"I don't know Ron.......it's quite strange isn't it?" Harry replied with much wonder.  
  
"Well, whatever the reason is," Hermione added. "I think it's a wonderful idea that students from other schools want to come and visit ours."  
  
Once everyone was finished eating and the tables were all clear, Dumbledore stood once again to make his speech and silence fell across the hall. He looked out at all the students with his sparkling eyes and smiled. "Welcome, once again to another exciting year at Hogwarts, I trust that everyone had a pleasant summer and has been looking forward to returning.......I wish to begin by simply reminding everyone that the Forest on the grounds is off limits to all students that do not desire an expulsion, and that magic is strictly prohibited in the corridors......Also, I would like to take the time now to introduce to you our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lonnie Granita." The man who had been talking to Hagrid earlier stood up to be recognized.  
  
"Hopefully, you will be staying quite a bit longer than our previous replacements," Dumbledore joked as the sea of students erupted in laughter. It had been a regular practice now for Hogwarts to go through one Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher per year and it was becoming difficult to find one that didn't believe the position was cursed.  
  
Dumbledore motioned for silence and continued in a more serious attitude. "Next......as we all know I'm sure, the Dark Lord has indeed returned.....and the Ministry and Order both agree that it would be best if we took merely a few precautions this year." Students were giving each other alarming stares as if they believed something terrible was going to happen to them.  
  
Dumbledore detected this and began to speak again in a comforting tone. "This does not mean that something will indeed happen.......we just want our students to be safe while studying here in the event that something does come about." Students' faces were now becoming a bit relaxed, though some were still quite unconvinced. However, they allowed Dumbledore to carry on without interruption.  
  
"Now the Ministry has appointed a representative who will be personally monitoring the goings on around here. He will be staying at Hogwarts over the whole school year and I want all of you to make him feel welcome.......although, I will not say he is a complete stranger to some us." Dumbledore shot a quick glance towards the Gryffindor table then looked towards the direction of the entrance. "You may now come in."  
  
With those words, a tall, shadowed figure entered the Great Hall, taking long strides as he walked. Eyes were fixed on him with bewilderment as he continued to walk towards the centre of the room. Once he came into the light of the hall, Harry finally recognized the mysterious figure to none other than Percy, Ron's brother.  
  
"Why.......IT'S PERCY!!" Ron said with much surprise.  
  
"What's he doing here?" Ginny added with an equal amount of shock.  
  
Both Harry and Hermione shrugged their shoulders in response. Neither of them knew the exact reason why Percy was here, as did many others all across the Great Hall. Students all over were beginning to talk with confused expressions on their faces, disregarding the fact that Percy was about to speak.  
  
"SETTLE DOWN NOW!!" came Percy's famous dominating voice. The elder students knew this tone of voice rather well, considering that Percy was a past Head Boy at Hogwarts and was very accustomed to telling others what to do.  
  
"The Minister for Magic has personally chosen me as the Official School Patroller of Hogwarts as I will be making sure that Hogwarts stays as safe as possible while the Order and Ministry are busy with other affairs." He said with much pride in his voice.  
  
"Right," Ron whispered to Harry. "What he means is they didn't want him bothering them and nosing around.......so they sent him off." Harry gave a slight chuckle and returned his attention back to Percy.  
  
"My job is quite simple........I will carefully monitor the activity here at Hogwarts and if I suspect anything suspicious I am to inform the Ministry straight away."  
  
Ron was again whispering in Harry's ear, "That's not very important!.........Any teacher at this school could very well do that job."  
  
Percy, who had noticed this, gave Ron a very stern look and continued, "Also, for increased security, vacations with family during the Christmas holidays this year will be cancelled.......and for students 3rd year or higher, you will only be allowed ONE trip to Hogsmeade. The date will be announced later on in the year." Many cries of discontentment came from students at every table.  
  
"I am sorry, but these adjustments must be made if you wish to remain at Hogwarts.......now if there are no further objections, I believe the hour is getting late and you have classes bright and early in the morning........you may now all go up to your dormitories."  
  
"Look at that!" Ron exclaimed as he rose from his seat. "Not even here for a day, and he already has us following his commands!!.......I tell you, Percy's really something!"  
  
"Now Ron," Hermione spoke in her usual authoritative manner. "It's just his job, you know that."  
  
"Yes......I KNOW that Hermione!" Ron began arguing. "It's just that........I get enough of him at home, now I have to deal with him HERE, at Hogwarts!!"  
  
"Well, it's ALWAYS about you, isn't it Ron! Don't you care at all that Percy's here for our own protection.....for Harry's protection!!" Hermione snapped.  
  
"Come on guys," Harry cut in. He couldn't stand it when his two best friends fought. "It's too early in the year for you two to be fighting.....give it a rest. Let's just go to our common room like Percy said."  
  
Slowly, the students left the Great Hall and went to their rooms just as Percy had instructed although, many were not at all thinking about going to bed just yet. With the feeling that Hogwarts might actually be in grave peril, students remained in their common rooms, busily discussing the matter.  
  
Harry's mind had also lingered on the thought of the tightened security. He stayed behind in the common room by the fire, in spite of the fact that Ron and Hermione had already gone up to their rooms--neither of them felt like speaking to each other.  
  
Shortly after, Harry too left the dark common room, and went upstairs to his dormitory, slowly climbing the steps as he went. Since Ron was already sound asleep, Harry quietly tiptoed over to his four poster bed so as to not wake him, although--Ron's snoring was so loud that Harry felt nothing could stir his slumber.  
  
As Harry began changing into his pajamas, his thoughts pondered once again the last lines of the ominous prophecy......neither can live while the other survives......these horrible words revolved through Harry's mind as he began staring out of the window into the dark, starry moon lit sky--Somewhere out there, Voldemort was carefully planning his vengeful attack.

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Whew! That was a pretty lengthy chapter! Sorry 'bout that! Well that's all for now, hope you liked!.......please remember to review!! Thanks!  
  
Oh, and now that the scene is set at Hogwarts, I hope to start getting some Ron and Hermione stuff into the storyline......so all you shippers out there......stay tuned 


	8. Artemis Maximus the Third

Hello all!! Thanks again to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! You guys are the coolest.....Please, do keep those reviews coming in!!  
  
Oh....since I am posting this today, the 31st of July, I would like to take the time now to wish The wonderful J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! lol  
  
_Disclaimer: Again, I am not J.K. Rowling and I do not own any of her characters....though I wish I did lol!_

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**Chapter 8: Artemis Maximus the Third**  
  
That night, Harry awoke to the loud noise of the squeaking floorboards and the sound of footsteps coming from very close by. "Who's there?" Harry called out as his arm quickly reached for his glasses. There was no answer. Harry strained his hearing to listen for any more mysterious noises that might occur, however, not a sound could be heard. Thinking that it was just Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, or maybe a working house elf finishing up some late night cleaning, he replaced his glasses from where he took them and returned his head to his pillow.  
  
He had just closed his eyes in hopes of getting in a few more hours of sleep before morning when suddenly a hand shot out from the darkness and took hold of Harry's neck--barely choking him to death. The other hand went for his mouth to stifle any cries for help that might have forced its way out of Harry's mouth.  
  
"Looking for me Potter?" the harsh, dark voice whispered out from the shadowy darkness. Harry was struggling from within the tight grasp of his unknown attacker until finally he managed to free his mouth from the cool and clammy hand.  
  
"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Harry was speaking in a little over a whisper, hoping that Ron, Neville, Dean or Seamus would hear him, wake up, and come to his rescue.  
  
"Never you mind! Where you're going you won't need to know....." The voice said forebodingly as a shiny, silver blade was now making its way towards Harry's throat. "Good bye Potter....." The mysterious person let out a deep, sinister laugh before raising this weapon high into the air, preparing to strike. The blade was now swiftly moving towards Harry's neck and was merely an inch away from its desired target. It was so close that Harry could literally feel the coolness of the blade and could tell that it was in fact very sharp. He closed his eyes tightly, helplessly anticipating his quick and painful death.  
  
Harry's eyes instantly shot open as he heard a loud thump come from near by. He had apparently been dreaming and it was that loud thump that had awaken him from the horrible nightmare that he'd just had. He reached out his arm promptly towards the bed-side-table and put on his glasses, realizing that it was now morning.  
  
With his glasses now on, the view of the room became much clearer. Quickly, Harry scanned the room for what could have possibly made that noise and let out a long sigh of relief when he saw Ron hopping around on one foot, while grasping his other in pain. "Ron," Harry began in all curiosity. "What on earth are you doing? You look like you're preparing for the ballet or something."  
  
"Sorry Harry," Ron managed to say through his clenched teeth. It was obvious that he was in a great deal of pain. "I stubbed my foot on the corner of my trunk....OW! It really hurts!"  
  
"Oh, that's good," Harry replied as the tension fully left his body.  
  
"What d'ya mean that's good?.... I think my toe's turning blue!" Ron was a bit astonished to hear that Harry didn't seem to care about his injured foot.  
  
"Oh--well, when you made that loud noise, you woke me up from a very awful dream that I was having." Harry informed his friend.  
  
"Harry, was it one of those premonition dreams that you have sometimes?" Ron was now sitting on the edge of his bed, caressing his foot gently to subdue the pain.  
  
"No.....at least I think it wasn't," Harry paused as he thought hard then responded. "No, I'm positive it wasn't. I was sleeping and then I heard these footsteps so I woke up to see what it was.....Then out of nowhere, this mysterious hand came out of the darkness and tried to kill me with an axe..... That was when you woke me up."  
  
Ron sat on his bed, contemplating the events of Harry's dream. "Oh Harry, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I mean, if it wasn't one of those other kind of dreams then I'm sure it doesn't mean anything....any ways, we'd better be getting dressed and go down to eat breakfast. Neville, Dean and Seamus have already left."  
  
Once Harry and Ron had gone down for breakfast, they saw that Hermione was already seated at the Gryffindor table. "Good morning Harry," she greeted brightly then quickly shifted her mood. "Hello Ron," she said more spitefully.  
  
"Come on Hermione," Ron pleaded. "You're still on about our little argument last night?" He recalled how they had been fighting over Percy being at Hogwarts.  
  
"I'm not sure," she responded, lightening her attitude. "I guess not. Well.....sit down then."  
  
Harry and Ron both took seats across from Hermione and began serving themselves some bacon and scrambled eggs. Soon after, Professor McGonagall was making her way around the hall, passing out the class schedules. Harry unrolled the piece of parchment and began looking over his classes.  
  
"We've got Charms first with Hufflepuff," Harry informed his friends. "Then double Potions with Slytherin....That'll be great!" he added sarcastically. "And after lunch it's Herbology and Double Transfigurations." Harry scanned the rest of the week's schedule. "We don't have Defence Against the Dark Arts until tomorrow."  
  
"Well, that doesn't seem so bad does it?" Ron said in between bites of food. "At least we don't have to suffer another year with Divination....and except for Potions with Slytherin, the rest of the day seems pretty decent."  
  
"I can't wait to see what the new teacher's like though," Hermione added. "I hope he'll be a lot better than that Umbridge woman and actually let us cast spells in class!"  
  
At that moment, the sound of flapping wings and soft hooting noises came from above and Harry looked up to find that owls were swooping down from every angle to deliver the morning mail. Hermione paid for her usual subscription to the Daily Prophet newspaper and had also received, what seemed to be a letter sealed in a dark red envelope.  
  
Harry's arm shot out for the paper while Hermione curiously opened her letter. His eyes scanned the pages of the Daily Prophet in hopes of finding an article about the Order's progress or anything concerning Voldemort's return. Realizing that there was nothing of importance printed in the paper, Harry put it down in dissatisfaction and redirected his attention to Hermione, who was now deeply engrossed in the reading of her letter.  
  
Ron sat impatiently, wanting to know what the letter was about. Finally Hermione looked up with a rather content look on her face. "Well....what's the letter about?" Ron inquired.  
  
"Oh, it was a letter from Viktor...." Hermione started but was cut off.  
  
"Really, and what exactly did he want? Does he still like you?" there was a slight tinge of jealously in Ron's voice, which Harry had picked up instantly.  
  
"Would you let me finish!" Hermione said with annoyance. "In the summer, I wrote to him saying that things wouldn't work out between us and that maybe he should find himself a nice Bulgarian girlfriend.....So he wrote to tell me that he would try to, but he didn't seem too happy about it."  
  
"Oh well!" Ron said. "He'd be better off with a girl closer to home any ways." A look of relief came across Ron's face. "Now you can focus more on school!"  
  
"I suppose," Hermione responded with a hint of disappointment in her voice.  
  
At that moment, Harry heard sounds of loud chattering and turned to see where it was coming from. "Hmm.....I wonder what that crowd is up to." Harry's attention was directed towards a group of giddy girls that appeared to be making its way in the direction of their table. Ron and Hermione both turned their heads just in time to see the new transfer student, Artemis, emerge from within the sea of giggling females.  
  
"It was nice meeting all of you, girls. I guess I'll be seeing you around then," Artemis was struggling to free himself from the cluster of crowding girls. Harry--now with a better look at the new student--realized that he wasn't at all that bad looking and seemed to attract quick glances from many of the female students.  
  
Now completely free, Artemis took a seat next to Hermione and began introducing himself to the three of them as he ate his breakfast. "Hello there, I'm Artemis as you probably already know."  
  
"Pleased to meet you Artemis," Harry greeted politely.  
  
"Yes, same here," Ron added.  
  
Artemis' eyes were glued on Harry's scar momentarily before speaking again. "Why, you must be Harry Potter!" he was exclaiming his amazement. "They talk about you all the time at Katherine Cackles."  
  
Hermione interrupted. "Yes....and what exactly made you decide to leave Katherine Cackles and come here?"  
  
Artemis' eyes were now focused on Hermione. "Why.....hello there," he appeared to be in a trance upon laying his eyes on Hermione's face. "I'm Artemis, and you are....." he extended his arm towards Hermione, as if motioning to shake hers.  
  
"I'm Hermione Granger," she offered out her own hand. "So, why did you--"  
  
She was abruptly stopped in mid-sentence as Artemis took her hand in his and gently kissed it. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Hermione.....that's a very pretty name." Hermione's face was now turning red like a ripe tomato, and she pried her hand from Artemis' hand.  
  
Ron cleared his throat loudly to interrupt the awkward moment. "I believe she asked you a question, Artemis!" his voice was a little louder than normal. Harry could've been wrong but he believed that he was detecting more signs of jealousy from Ron.  
  
"Oh, right," Artemis now returned his attention back to all three of them, instead of just primarily on Hermione. "Well, my school offered a one year internship program for those students that wished to explore other schools, such as Hogwarts.....So I decided to apply for the program and surprisingly got accepted!"  
  
"Good for you, Artemis," Hermione congratulated him. "Is everyone at your school um....well you know.....smart?" she seemed to be wanting to ask that question most of all.  
  
"Well, that is what the rumours say," Artemis chuckled slightly. "But, I can't say that we're perfect--no, even some of the smarter wizards have their flaws."  
  
Harry smiled as he teased Hermione. "Here that Hermione? Even some of the smarter wizards aren't perfect!"  
  
Hermione refused to let Harry's comment bother her, yet, if Harry was mistaken, he could see her cheeks turn a light shade of pink.  
  
"Right.....Well, erm....we'd better be getting to class," came Ron's voice, who seemed very eager to leave Artemis alone at the table. He and Harry both stood up, preparing to leave. "Coming Hermione?" Ron asked with a slight bit of tension in his voice as if urging her to rise from her seat.  
  
"Oh--okay," she stood up. "See you in class Artemis." And the three of them left the Great Hall for their first class.  
  
"Well, that Artemis fellow seems rather nice....don't you agree?" Hermione was saying to her friends as they made their way towards their Charms classroom.  
  
"I don't know about you, but there's something peculiar about him," Ron's eyes were squinting with suspicion.  
  
"What on earth are you talking about Ron?" Hermione said with shock. "He was very charming....something that you (her eyes shot at Ron) will never have."  
  
"Um....well he seemed a little too friendly towards you, I think! Yea that's it....isn't that right Harry?" Ron asked Harry, hoping for his backup.  
  
"Erm....right...." Harry replied, though--in all honesty, he really was paying no attention at all to Ron and Hermione's conversation, he was more focused on something else. He'd just seen Cho pass him in the corridor--her hand in Michael's. Yet, although she was with her boyfriend, Harry could've sworn that she shot a smile towards him as he passed by on his way to Charms.  
  
Charms went by quickly. Professor Flitwick had taught the class a new spell--how to make objects disappear for a period of time. Harry surprisingly had succeeded in turning his Charms Book completely invisible after only a few tries of waving his wand and saying the incantation--disapperato, and Hermione had managed to perform the spell flawlessly with very little practice at all. Ron on the other hand, was only able to make half of his Charms book disappear but was pleased to find that Artemis was having very minor difficulties as well. Although Artemis was able to make his book fully disappear without fault, it refused to remain invisible and would return back to its normal state seconds later.  
  
However, by the end on the class everyone (including Neville) was vanishing the desks, chairs--almost everything in the room, and returning it back to its original state with ease, with the reversing spell--apperato.  
  
Potions class in the dark, dingy dungeon was rather dismal. Professor Snape had begun his class by lecturing the class in his long, droning voice, "Potions this year will require the utmost concentration and precision and I have no doubt that some of you will continue to do well (he was looking at Malfoy)..... However, some of you that managed to scrape your way through your OWLs and barely pull off a passing grade will have to work extremely harder this term (he looked at Harry).....it is a wonder that you are in my class at all."  
  
Harry was indeed beginning to wonder just that--what was he still doing in Potions? He was given the opportunity to discontinue his studies in the Potions field of magic. However, when he was consulted by Professor McGonagall last year about his future plans, Potions was one of the classes required to become what he wanted to be--An Auror.  
  
They then proceeded in the concoction of Snape's newly taught potion. Harry, who had accidentally added too much of the Powdered Sequoia Bark was frantically trying to clean the bubbly mess that was seeping from the rim of his pewter cauldron. Snape had of course caught this and awarded Harry with extra Potions homework for the night.  
  
After lunch, Harry, Ron and Hermione attended Herbology in the greenhouse and finally Transfigurations with Professor McGonagall where they were finally taught how to transform their desk into a pig. Harry had been waiting for this ever since Professor McGonagall had demonstrated such magic in his first year at Hogwarts. It had looked so easy when Professor McGonagall had done it, yet in reality, it was quite a difficult task and no one, including Hermione was able to completely make a full transformation into a pig. There were desks with four pig's feet protruding through the bottom, desks with curly pig's tails, and some desks with a full head sticking out from the front, snorting wildly.  
  
"This is a lot more difficult that I thought it would be," Hermione said with surprise. She had of course expected to perform the spell better than anyone else in the class.  
  
"You're telling me!" Ron was looking at his desk with frustration as his half desk--half pig's head was staring back at him with its dark, beady eyes.  
  
"Well....at least your pig doesn't seem very hungry," Harry added. "Mine wants to eat my robes, I think." He snatched his long, black sleeve out of his pig's mouth and examined it for any chew markings.  
  
After about an hour of unsuccessful attempts, Professor McGonagall returned all the desks back and motioned for the class to sit down. "As you can see, turning larger objects into animals is a lot more difficult than turning simple matches into needles....but we have come a long way since your first year, therefore much more effort is required." Professor McGonagall then dismissed the class however called Harry to stay behind.  
  
"Go ahead Ron," Harry called out. "I'll catch up with you later." He walked over the Professor McGonagall's desk. He was clueless as to what was going to happen.  
  
"Potter, I need you to meet me in my office after dinner....there is something of great importance that must be taken care of," she gave Harry a sort of serious look.  
  
"Umm....Professor, what needs to be taken care of?" Harry asked with the utmost curiosity.  
  
"Oh, well you'll find out later," she had a small smile on her face. "I need to confirm it first....then I'll let you know after dinner....now off you go then."  
  
"But--Professor--I...."  
  
"You'll see later, go have yourself a nice meal then return to my office." It was clear that Professor McGonagall was not going to go into further detail as to what was happening, so Harry did as he was told and left the classroom.  
  
Hours later, he, Ron and Hermione were in the Great Hall. Harry was quickly scarfing down his food because he was very eager to meet Professor McGonagall in her office. Once he had finished his meal, Harry looked up at the head table and saw that McGonagall was nowhere to be seen. Immediately, he rose from his seat.  
  
"Well, good luck Harry," Ron said as he patted Harry on the back, though he did not know for sure whether Harry needed luck or not.  
  
"Um....Thanks Ron," Harry said with uncertainty in his voice.  
  
As he left the hall, he could hear Hermione's voice in the distance, "Ron! Honestly, you're acting like Harry's gotten expelled or something!  
  
Personally, Harry had no idea what was going to happen--would he get expelled?....but he had no reason for an expulsion. All the many possibilities passed through Harry's mind as he made his way towards Professor McGonagall's office-maybe he had somehow, without knowing, broken a school rule and would be getting punished...or...perhaps, she had some important information on Voldemort's return that Harry needed to know.  
  
Harry arrived just outside of Professor McGonagall's office and knocked on the door. Whatever the reason for this meeting, Harry was sure nothing good could become of it. He stood nervously in the dark shadows of the corridor waiting for the door to open, preparing himself for the worst possible thing to come.

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OooOooH! What could Professor McGonagall possibly want to tell Harry? Well, I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out....next chapter will be coming.....In the mean time, please review my story and keep checking back for more! Thanks!


	9. The Mysterious Meeting

Hey again, I'm soooo happy to hear that everyone's enjoying the story. Thanks once again to all of those who have submitted reviews............I'm pleased to see that some new readers are enjoying the story as well!! I really love hearing what you guys think!  
  
_Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is the magnificent author of Harry Potter and I take no credit for her wonderful creations!_

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**Chapter 9: The Mysterious Meeting**  
  
"What is taking her so long to open the door?" Harry asked himself as he stood waiting in the dark corridor for Professor McGonagall to answer the door. Perhaps it was because he was so nervous about this meeting that it seemed like he'd been standing there forever. But, it was true. Harry was indeed very nervous, seeing as how he did not know what to expect when McGonagall would open her door and let him inside.  
  
Finally, after what appeared (to Harry) to be a lifetime, the intricate brass doorknob began turning and soon the mahogany brown door opened to reveal a small, cozy office. "Come in Potter," Professor McGonagall's voice came from within the room.  
  
Of course, Harry had been in this very room countless times before--when he had been punished by McGonagall, but never had it looked ever so welcoming. The warmth of the room was radiating from the roaring fire that appeared to be have been burning for quite some time already, and the lighting of the room was very subtle and emitted a sense of tranquility.  
  
"Well sit down then," McGonagall pointed towards the small, red chair off to the side of her desk, and then sat down herself. Slowly, Harry made his way to the cushioned chair. Regardless of the fact that the room did feel very warm and hospitable, he still felt worried and a strange sensation was now forming from within Harry's stomach.  
  
"What's the matter Mr. Potter? You look rather ill," Professor McGonagall had noticed that Harry's face seemed a slight bit paler than usual. "Maybe something to drink will put some colour back into that skin of yours...............Here," she offered Harry a nice, hot cup of tea.  
  
"Um............thank you Professor," Harry took a sip and felt the warm liquid flow through his body, right down to the tips his toes. He instantly felt better and sat patiently, waiting for Professor McGonagall to speak again.  
  
"There, that's better," she had obviously also noticed the change. "Well Potter, now I suppose you're wondering why exactly you are here," McGonagall said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Um............well the thought DID slip through my mind."  
  
"Of course it did.............I didn't really tell you anything now, did I?" a strange smile came across Professor McGonagall's face as she said this. "Well, the truth of the matter is that................." McGonagall never got the opportunity to complete her sentence, for at that moment the door to her office flew open.  
  
"PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL!!" Harry turned his head to see a very horrified Percy standing in the doorway, who paid no attention to Harry at all. In fact, Percy gave the impression that he didn't even know Harry was sitting right in that very room.  
  
"Percy, what ever is the matter?" McGonagall asked with furrowed brows.  
  
"Well..............I was just patrolling up in the Gryffindor tower," Percy said, still paying no attention to Harry.  
  
"And............" Professor McGonagall urged him to continue.  
  
"And, well--er--I can't really say................it's too awful," Percy's voice was shrill with terror.  
  
"PERCY!" McGonagall was getting really angry. "YOU ARE REALLY DRIVING MY PATIENCE!"  
  
"Sorry Professor, but--he's--he's missing............not in the common room or in the library--Not even with his friends."  
  
"Percy, what on earth are you talking about? WHO'S MISSING?" Professor McGonagall's mood towards Percy was not changing at all. Harry, who sat there in silence, was also curious as to who was missing.  
  
Percy drew a large breath before he began speaking again. "Harry................he's gone................I can't find him anywhere!" He still apparently had not looked in the chair where Harry was sitting.  
  
"PERCY YOU IDIOT! If Harry is missing, then who may I ask is this," Professor McGonagall made a gesture towards the red chair in which Harry was sitting in.  
  
Percy at last took his eyes off of Professor McGonagall and turned them towards the chair where he finally saw Harry. "Oh, why hello there Harry--I mean--HARRY!!!....what are you doing here? I've been looking for you everywhere."  
  
"Didn't you ask Ron where I was?" Harry inquired.  
  
"Oh--no, not really............" Percy seemed a bit embarrassed to admit this, seeing as how his whole state of panic could have been avoided if only he had asked Ron such a simple question.  
  
"Well, it's nice to know you care about me now that you believe all my foolish lies about Voldemort," Harry said bitterly, remembering how last year, Percy (like many others) refused to believe that Harry was telling the truth about the Dark Lord's return.  
  
"Oh Harry, I am truly sorry about that," Percy's eyes were sincere and Harry could tell that his apology was true. "And Professor........sorry for interrupting your meeting here....Just doing my job you know..... I'll be leaving now." Percy turned around, walked out and closed the door behind him.  
  
"Foolish lad!.....Now, where was I?" Professor McGonagall was trying to remember where she'd left off before they were interrupted. "Oh yes.....Potter, as you might have already noticed, Angelina Johnson is no longer at Hogwarts."  
  
"Umm--now that you mention it Professor, I haven't seen her this year at all."  
  
"Yes, she completed her 7th year at Hogwarts and has left us," she informed Harry.  
  
"Oh, right....I forgot about that," Harry had a puzzled look on his face. "But what does Angelina's leaving Hogwarts have to do with me?"  
  
"Well Potter, seeing as how Gryffindor is now without a Quidditch captain, I was hoping that you'd be willing to take her place.......I have already confirmed it with Professor Dumbledore and he says it would be fine if you took such a position. " That strange smile she'd given Harry earlier had again appeared on Professor McGonagall's face.  
  
An overwhelming mixture of both happiness and grief took over Harry's mind. He was undeniably very happy that McGonagall had thought him worthy enough to be Gryffindor's captain, yet he was torn between that and the fact that he did not know nearly as much about Quidditch as he should.........What good would he be as a captain?  
  
"Er, Professor........I don't think I'd make such a good captain--I mean--I don't really know much about Quidditch........even Ron knows a lot more than I do."  
  
"Mr. Potter, are you suggesting that I make Mr. Weasley the Quidditch captain?--After I have just consulted the Headmaster? Weasley can barely do his job as a keeper let alone be captain!"  
  
"Well, maybe if you just gave him a chance--I mean, I really think he'd be a much better captain than I would........maybe making him captain might even strengthen his confidence as keeper, please Professor?" Harry pleaded.  
  
"If you're certain, then I suppose I cannot force you to be captain......." McGonagall seemed a little hesitant towards this. "You'd better go and inform Mr. Weasley.......he will have to start holding try outs for new positions soon, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet have also completed their 7th year so Gryffindor will be needing some new Chasers....off you go then Potter."  
  
"Thank you Professor.........I know Ron won't let us down." Harry practically leaped from his chair and ran out of the office, towards the Gryffindor tower. He was sure Ron would be delighted to hear the good news. Soon, he arrived just outside of entrance, guarded by the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
"Password?" she asked.  
  
"Glamdring!"  
  
The portrait swung open and Harry rushed through to tell Ron the good news. He looked around the almost empty common room and found Hermione and Ron sitting in their regular chairs by the fireside, they clearly had been awaiting Harry's return.  
  
"RON! You won't believe what just happened!" Harry ran so quickly over to where they were seated that he almost tripped over Crookshanks who hissed loudly at him.  
  
"It's obvious you didn't get in trouble then," Hermione said, noticing his joyous mood.  
  
"What happened Harry?" Ron was very anxious to find out.  
  
Harry took a seat by the fireplace before answering. "Well, you know how Angelina left Hogwarts?"  
  
"She did?.......I had no idea," Ron said.  
  
"Of course she's left," Hermione added in her all knowing voice. "She was in the 7th year."  
  
Harry continued. "Well anyway, since she's gone, McGonagall asked me to be Quidditch captain."  
  
"Oh Harry that's wonderful!" Hermione expressed her joy by jumping off her chair.  
  
"Yea, but the thing is, I told her that I didn't want to be captain."  
  
Ron's jaw had dropped down. "Harry, what's the matter with you? Being captain's great! It's all I've ever wanted to be."  
  
"Yea, I know. That's why I convinced McGonagall to let you be captain.......besides you know a lot more about the game than I do," Harry beamed at Ron.  
  
If Ron's mouth had been open before, it was now so wide that you could stuff about a dozen Chocolate Frogs in it. "HARRY, YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS?.....ME? Quidditch captain?" Ron now began dancing around the room. "Wait till Fred and George find out!........Harry thank you.....I'm Quidditch captain!!!!" Ron was so happy that he somehow found himself hugging everyone that happened to be in the common room, including a few first years who were quite shocked and gave Ron peculiar stares.  
  
"Oooh! I should write a letter home!" Ron said as if a light switched on in his head. He literally bolted up the stairs to his room and didn't come down.  
  
Harry had never seen Ron this happy before. It had always been Ron's dream to become Quidditch captain for the Gryffindor team. Harry had learned this years ago when he'd taken Ron to see the Mirror of Erised. While Harry's reflection in the mirror had revealed his family, Ron's depicted himself as Quidditch captain and Head Boy. Harry had sat there by the fire, watching Ron express his happiness. He smiled, knowing that he'd helped his friend achieve just one of those fantasies.

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Well there you have it.......a short but sweet chapter! Not one of my best, but it was okay I guess. Tell me what you thought of it.......Review please and be NICE!.....I DONT CARE WHAT SOME OF YOU PPL THINK!!!!! Ron deserves some of the lime light too!! Please don't let the fact that Harry gave the captaincy to Ron ruin your reading experience!!


	10. Initio Repello

Hey! Thanks to everyone for their reviews--some new readers: Cece, hermione granger, Angel1129 (I luv ya girl) Any- whoo, here's chapter 10  
  
Oh Lanie.....I think I'm gonna dedicate this chapter to you! You'll see why once you read it!

_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, but thanks to hermione granger ) who thought I was, you're too kind_

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**Chapter 10: Initio Repello**  
  
The next day at Hogwarts was very gray and miserable. The bewitched ceiling of the Great Hall mirrored the state of the sky outside on the school grounds--cloudy with drizzling rain. The only thing Harry and his friends had to look forward to was their first class with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Granita. Therefore, the ambiance of the day did not improve when Hermione received the newspaper that morning.  
  
Harry had almost spilled the jug of pumpkin juice when he heard Hermione give a sharp intake of breath. Both him and Ron snapped their heads around to see what all the fuss was about.  
  
"Look here," Hermione whispered as she pointed at the front page of the Daily Prophet.  
  
A large black and white picture immediately caught Harry's eyes where he recognized various members of the Order of the Phoenix, all of them sporting very grim looks on their faces. In the background, Harry could make out Ron's mother in the brace of Arthur Weasley's arms who appeared to be sobbing heavily.  
  
"THAT'S MUM!" Ron expressed loudly, and Ginny who was sitting quite close by came over to see what was going on. She too, like Hermione, let out a cry of fright when she began reading the headline:  
  
_MURDER IN LITTLE HANGLETON  
  
Wizard, Mundungus Fletcher was murdered last night, the first of September while out doing undercover work for a secret society (we are not authorized to say the name for security reasons) in order to acquire further information dealing with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. When Fletcher did not appear at last night's meeting, associates, Remus Lupin and Alastor Moody, along with Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge went looking for him-- although this was not the first time Mundungus had been absent for a meeting. He was found later that night at the former residence of the late Riddle Family in the village of Little Hangleton--dead.  
  
This was apparently the said hideout of the Dark Lord and all his followers, yet when Fudge, Lupin and Moody arrived on the scene, not a single soul was found apart from Mundungus' dead, cold body lying on the floor next to his severely severed head. This unjust deed could only have been the work of very dark magic but we were told otherwise by none other than the Minister for Magic himself.  
_  
_"Certainly no wand or curse could ever produce such a clean swipe through the neck like that!" comments Fudge. "We have a strong reason to believe that this was the work of not a wand but another very dark weapon..................the legendary Axe of Slytherin, belonging to Lord Voldemort himself."  
_  
_There have been rumors that You-Know-Who, who is the rightful Heir of the Great Salazar Slytherin has in fact obtained the Axe, however the rumor has now become truth and his only goal now is to take care of some unfinished business, something that he was not able to accomplish 16 years ago--Kill Harry Potter, the boy who lived.  
_  
Harry gulped upon finishing the last few words of the article. It was true, his dream that he had before leaving for Hogwarts a month ago. Noticing Harry's state of distress, Ron, Hermione and Ginny turned their sympathizing heads towards him. Ginny was almost in tears, Hermione opened her mouth to comfort Harry but nothing came out. Ron at last was the first to break the silence, "Um.......Harry," he started very quietly but was cut off abruptly by an approaching cold drawl.  
  
"Looks like the Famous Potter won't be with us much longer," it was Malfoy who was pretending to wipe a fake tear from his eye. He had obviously just read the same article in the Daily Prophet.  
  
"You've got a lot of nerve coming over here and saying that Malfoy," Ron sneered as he stood up from the table.  
  
"Oh, and I suppose you, Weasley, are going to stop me?" Malfoy looked at Ron.  
  
"No! We're going to help him!" came two very confident voices. Hermione and Ginny now stood next to Ron with their wands raised. They seemed very determined to put Malfoy in the Hospital Wing.  
  
"Well Potter, looks like you've got yourself a fine army to back you up!" Malfoy said with cold eyes. "A mudblood, and two Weasleys.......Too bad they won't be any good though! The Dark Lord can kill you and all your little friends in one shot." He made a gesture with his hand across his neck and mimicked the sound of a swishing blade.  
  
Harry had enough, "ONE MORE WORD MALFOY AND I'LL......" Harry began raising his wand, his face red with fury.  
  
"Is anything wrong here ladies and gentlemen?" a voice came from behind, which they all recognized--Percy. "Ron and Ginny, you're not causing any trouble here are you?"  
  
"Um........no Percy," Ron gave a phony, angelic smile.  
  
Percy glanced around and saw Draco. "Ah, Malfoy. I should've known it was you causing all of this," Percy's voice was tense with hatred. "All right.........you'd all be getting to class now. Move along!"  
  
"See you in class then, Potter," Malfoy said as he left with Crabbe and Goyle chuckling deeply behind him.  
  
Shortly after, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Harry were also off in the direction of their first class. Not wanting the news in the Daily Prophet to ruin the rest of his already depressing day, Harry put all his dreary thoughts in the back of his mind and walked down the corridor with the rest of his friends.  
  
Halfway there, Ginny caught up with Colin Creevey, who had matured quite a bit over the past few years. He was no longer that small, mousey- haired boy running around the school taking pictures of Harry every moment he got. Colin was now about half a head shorter than Harry, with short blonde hair and Harry couldn't help but notice that he, like Ginny was sporting a very shiny Prefect badge on the lapel of his robe right next to the scarlet and gold embroidered Gryffindor emblem.  
  
"All right there, Harry," Colin called out as they all stopped momentarily in the corridor to greet each other.  
  
"Hi Colin, I see you've been made a !" Harry said with a smile.  
  
"Oh, yea........thanks!" Colin beamed. "Well Ginny, we'd better be going to Professor Binns' classroom."  
  
"Right......see you later then," Ginny called out to Harry, Ron and Hermione as she departed from the group.  
  
Minutes later, Harry and his fellow 6th year Gryffindors, along with the 6th year Ravenclaws were seated in the large Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, patiently awaiting the arrival of Professor Granita. Soon, the door opened and in walked the tall, black haired man, wearing robes of forest green and his black, square-framed glasses. The sleeves of his robes were rolled up to just under the elbow and with a closer look, Harry noticed that his square glasses were decked out with tiny little gems, silver in colour.  
  
"Welcome to 6th year Defense Against the Dark Arts," Professor Granita said with a smile. "I am of course your teacher Professor Lonnie Granita, although simply Professor Granita will be fine. Now as I understand, you haven't really had a permanent teacher in quite some time. Thus, I have taken the liberty to prepare for you a small pop quiz for part of this morning's lesson."  
  
Scattered groans of disappointment came from all over the class except for Hermione, who seemed very delighted to be having an evaluation so early on in the school year. However, her smile turned into a furrowed expression when Professor Granita said, "Not too much to worry about though, considering that the marks earned on this quiz will not count towards your end of the year mark......I only wish to see were you all stand on the subject, although I WILL be awarding house points to the students with the highest scores........" The grim faces around the classroom eased slightly.  
  
"Now, if you all would be so kind as to clear you desks before we begin," Professor Granita waited until every desktop was cleared up then waved his wand and magically, sheets of parchment appeared on the desks.  
  
Harry's eyes were wide with shock. Professor Granita had said that it would be a SMALL quiz, however, when Harry picked up his quill to begin, he noticed that there were at least over a hundred questions written on the parchment, including: What is the correct incantation for ridding a Boggart?....What is the name given to a black dog seen as a death omen?....List all of the Unforgivable Curses and briefly describe each......What is the spell used to fully disarm an opponent?.....What is the exact function of a Sneakoscope?  
  
Despite the number of questions, Harry was very pleased with himself. He knew practically the answer to every question and was one the first to finish.  
  
Once everyone had completed the quiz, Professor Granita went around the classroom, collected them all and began inserting each piece of parchment into a strange looking contraption sitting on the edge of his desk. As Harry got a better look at this odd device, he realized that aside from all the many different coloured switches and buttons, it closely resembled what Muggles called a photocopier.  
  
With the push of a large, red button, the quizzes began whirring through the machine at top speed until coming to rest in a neat little pile, stacked at the edge of the desk--completely corrected and marked. Immediately, Professor Granita picked up the stack of parchment and began perusing through them.  
  
He gave the class a disturbed look, "Hmm, I don't like these results," he said to the class earnestly. "Many of you failed to remember that a black dog seen as a death omen is called a Grim. But I must say, many of you did quite well.......Miss Granger and Mr. Potter, I believe you both have earned top marks in the class," He looked up from the sheets of parchment and smiled brightly. "Well done, take 10 points each for Gryffindor.....and who's quiz is this?" Professor Granita began searching for a name. "Ah yes, Mr. Maximus our new transfer student, congratulations as well, you have also managed to earn another 10 points for Gryffindor." Every Gryffindor was ecstatic with joy as they cheered.  
  
"Well now that's over with," Professor Granita began after the excitement in the class had died down. "On to the rest of today's business. The quiz that you have just taken has given me quite an idea on where to begin.........it seems that you are well-learned in the Theory of Defensive Magic, and you know quite a bit about dark magical creatures........" he paused as if deep in thought. "So.....I suppose I would like to begin now by teaching the class a new defensive spell, which I will first demonstrate to you."  
  
A large cloud of excitement swept across the classroom. Every Gryffindor and Ravenclaw sitting in that room was looking very much forward to using their wands, considering that it had been so long since they had ever needed their wands for a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.  
  
Once the sound of excitement settled, Professor Granita turned to the class and began to speak again. "Now for my demonstration, I will be needing a volunteer. Ah, yes.....how about you Mr. Potter, will you please come up here." He looked straight at Harry through his black glasses.  
  
Although Harry was not at all thinking about volunteering himself to be subjected to Professor Granita's demonstration, he rose from his chair and walked to the front of the classroom. While Harry carefully made his way through the labyrinth of desks to get to the front, Professor Granita conjured up a large pail filled to the top with small, stones about the size of Harry's fist.  
  
"Okay Harry, take this pail and go stand over there," Harry did as he was told, struggling with the weight of the bucket dragging down his arms, and stood by the end of the teacher's desk, furthest away from Professor Granita. There he patiently waited for his next instructions.  
  
"Harry, I want you to throw one of the stones at me," Professor Granita instructed.  
  
"Excuse me professor?" Harry had never been told to throw something at a teacher before and was rather shocked when he heard this, especially considering that the rocks were quite large and would probably hurt a great deal. "Did you just ask me to throw--"  
  
"You heard me correctly, Harry," Professor Granita laughed. "Pick up a stone and throw it straight at me...the harder, the better." Harry gave him a look of bewilderment then reached in the bucket and pulled out one of the many rocks resting inside. He clutched the stone tightly in his hand before throwing it with all his might.  
  
The stone was speeding quickly, as it whizzed to the other end of the classroom where Professor Granita stood. Just as the stone was about to hit him square in the forehead, he raised his wand and bellowed loudly, "INITIO REPELLO!"  
  
The rock, which Harry had thrown, appeared to hit an invisible wall, protecting Professor Granita from harm and fell to the floor with a loud thud. Judging by their faces, Professor Granita could tell that the class was absolutely awe stricken at the sight of what had just happened.  
  
"Wow Professor, what was that?" called out Dean Thomas.  
  
"Ah my dear boy, you see, the spell that you are about to learn is a very complex repelling charm, as you have just observed the rock being repelled from myself.......yet before we actually start, I ask all of you to please take out a roll of parchment and begin copying this down, " Professor Granita waved his wand once again and words began to magically appear on the chalkboard at the front of the classroom.  
  
_INITIO REPELLO is a spell cast to prevent most objects from making contact with the human body. Once the spell is preformed, an invisible shield of protection will form around the one who has cast the spell, and will repel almost anything (although there is no real guarantee as to which objects will be repelled). Warlock, Gilbert Gollaper was saved from death by this spell from a horrible meteor shower, and wizard genius Little Timmy McThorton never had to suffer another strangling hug from his grandmother when he learned this spell.  
_  
Professor Granita spoke again once the sound of quills scratching the surface of the parchment had ceased. "That's about all the time we have for today's lesson I am afraid so you may begin packing up your things.......Oh, and by the way, for homework I want each and every one of you to read and summarize pages 130 to 139 on this repelling charm to prepare yourself for our next class together."  
  
"Well, Professor Granita wasn't so bad was he?" Ron asked as the three of them sat down in the Great Hall for supper that evening. The condition outside had improved slightly since the morning and the rain had completely stopped.  
  
"And that new defensive spell seems quite interesting, doesn't it Harry?--Harry??--HARRY!!!" Hermione realized that Harry wasn't paying attention to her question. In fact, Harry's mind had thought back to the morning's paper......Mundungus Fletcher was dead, and Voldemort was still out there. "Harry, what's wrong?......It's that article isn't it?"  
  
Harry didn't reply, he remained deep in thought and neither Hermione nor Ron knew what to say that would lighten Harry's mood. All three of them had been through many life-threatening situations before, but never were they so severe as this one.  
  
"Harry, I'm sure Lupin and everyone else is doing the best they can to--" Ron began but was cut off suddenly by Harry.  
  
"Yea, but don't you see.......doing their best just isn't good enough anymore, look at what just happened! Voldemort (Ron flinched at the name) is back with probably more power than ever, and we don't even know HOW to stop him!"  
  
There was a long pause of silence. Hermione looked as if she was fighting back tears and Ron just stared blankly at his half full dinner plate, lost for words.  
  
"I think I'm just gonna go up to our room, I don't feel very hungry," Harry said after a while. He rose up and crossed over to the entrance, leaving the Great Hall. Harry needed someone to talk to, someone who would assure him that everything would be all right, someone other than his two best friends, but who?  
  
When Harry was a few feet away from the common room entrance, he heard a loud but familiar cackling sound--Peeves. He was right in front of the Fat Lady's Portrait, blocking Harry from entering with a fat magic marker in his hand, scribbling all over the castle walls.  
  
"Why, it's Potty Wee Potter!" Peeves said with a menacing smile as Harry approached.  
  
"Go away Peeves!!" there was a tone of anger in Harry's voice.  
  
"Shouldn't you be eating dinner? What's the matter? Is Ickle Potty feeling a bit down? Does he need old Peevsie to cheer him up?" Peeves teased.  
  
"No, Peeves! I just want to get into the Gryffindor common room."  
  
"I know what'll cheer you up," Peeves went on, ignoring Harry. "A song! Yes, perhaps a wee song would make Potty happy! Hmm, but what shall I sing?......" he paused to think.  
  
"PEEVES!!! Just let me in!" Harry said impatiently.  
  
Peeves just stuck out his tongue and broke into song, "Oh, Potter you're ugly but what can you do?.....If you looked in a mirror it surely would crack....Everyone knows you belong in a zoo but Potter you're ugly so what can we do?" And he zoomed off down the hall, singing loudly, leaving the path free for Harry to enter.  
  
The common room was completely empty since all of Gryffindor was down in the Great Hall, feasting. Harry walked up the spiral staircase, entered his dormitory and sat down on his four-poster bed, deep in thought. Suddenly, it hit him--he knew whom he could talk to. Harry opened his trunk, searching for something but he couldn't find it. He delved deeper, removing all of the trunk's contents until it was practically empty. It was then that he finally found what he was looking for, the other half of Sirius' mirror.  
  
Yet, although he had indeed found the mirror, Harry's heart sank down to his stomach. With all that had been happening with Voldemort's return, Harry had completely forgotten that he'd shattered the mirror and at the bottom of his trunk now lay the four broken pieces of the small mirror.  
  
With very little hope left, Harry carefully picked up each piece and laid them on his bed, forming the rectangular shape that the mirror had once had. "How will I ever talk to Lupin now?" Harry thought to himself. His mind began thinking about the ways he could fix the mirror. "Maybe I could use some of that Muggle super glue that Uncle Vernon always uses.........but where would I get some and would it be able to bond together something so magical as this?.........Or perhaps Spellotape, it worked on Ron's old wand when he busted it, maybe it'll work on this."  
  
Harry got off his bed once more and began rummaging through his belongings scattered on the floor until he found his almost finished roll of Spellotape. He peeled off a strip and started piecing together the broken shards of the mirror, as if it were a very delicate jigsaw puzzle. Soon, the pieces were completely bonded together, although not very strongly. Remembering the instructions on how to use it, he looked into the mirror and said very clearly, "I wish to speak with Remus Lupin."  
  
Nothing happened. Again he tried, "May I please speak with Remus Lupin." Still nothing and Harry was now becoming frustrated. "LET ME TALK TO LUPIN!!" he yelled at the mirror, which remained reflecting the image of Harry's irritated face. Giving up all hope, Harry roughly shoved the mirror in his robe pocket and changed into his pajamas. He felt quite exhausted after a very trying day.  
  
Not wanting to face Ron once he arrived, Harry drew the curtains around his bed and lay there motionless, staring blankly at the ceiling, thinking. If he were to come face to face with Voldemort any time soon, he would definitely not live to tell the tale this time. The Famous Harry Potter.......the brave and valiant Harry Potter who has escaped the wrath of Voldemort countless times before........would be dead within a heartbeat.

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Well there you go! Another chapter complete, sorry it was pretty long.....don't forget to REVIEW it!! Stay tuned for the next chapter!!


	11. Methuselah's Mystical Mirror

Thanks again to every one for your reviews!! Hermione Granger, I took your suggestion and changed the last chapter slightly, particularly the newspaper article, thanks 4 your insight!!!  
  
_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters!_

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**Chapter 11: Methuselah's Mystical Mirror**  
  
As the month of October rolled around, the castle grounds became cool with leaves of red, yellow, and brown falling to the earth, leaving the trees cold and bare. With one month already into the year, much was beginning to happen at Hogwarts, as it always did during this time of the year. In between classes, Hagrid could be seen through the castle windows tending to his patch of giant pumpkins, which (as usual) would be used to embellish the castle for their annual Halloween feast. Percy, who was determined to prove to the Ministry that they were right in assigning him as the Official School Patroller, continued to guard every square inch of the castle with his utmost dedication. Even Harry found it hard to concentrate on his life-threatening situation with all that was going on.  
  
Defense against the Dark Arts class alone was very strenuous, as Professor Granita had proceeded with his lessons on the Repelling charm. He had started the class off with shielding simple, palm sized cushions and was now progressing to more massive objects, which of course required much more focus to repel. Harry was so determined on avoiding being hit by a very large book, that he ended up walking out at the end of class saying his head hurt from too much concentration.  
  
In addition to that, the teachers insisted on assigning homework now almost daily in order to prepare the 6th year students for their NEWTs (Nearly Exhausting Wizarding Tests), which would be coming not this year but the next. Not to mention that the change in season also meant that Quidditch training would be starting soon and Ron, who was planning to start Chaser tryouts, took the liberty of making Harry his second in command.  
  
"I guess we could make Ginny one of the Chasers," Ron began informing Harry at breakfast one Saturday morning through mouthfuls of porridge. "She was on the team last year when you got suspended......Besides, she said herself that she prefers to score goals rather than catch the snitch and she's pretty good at it when we're playing at home."  
  
"Okay then," Harry agreed. "That takes care of one of the Chasers.......what about the other two?" Harry asked with much interest.  
  
"That's what today's tryouts are for mate, which reminds me........Er-- Hermione, if your not doing anything--what I mean to say is if you're not too busy........maybe you can come and watch the tryouts with me--Er--I mean us?" Ron asked eagerly, nudging Harry very hard with his elbow.  
  
"Um, yea Hermione......it's beautiful outside and we all could do with a bit of fresh air." Harry said while recovering from a slight surge of pain in his stomach from where Ron's elbow had collided.  
  
Hermione looked up from her breakfast plate with a sort of torn expression on her face. "Oh no, I'm sorry but I've got to do something today.......I'm really sorry."  
  
"Oh, okay then," Ron looked slightly disappointed and returned to his bowl of porridge. "What've you got to do any way?"  
  
"Umm.......Oh it's nothing really......just something in the library, that's all." Hermione answered vaguely and returned to her breakfast, leaving Ron and Harry with a rather bemused look on their faces.  
  
Hours later, Harry and Ron were out on the Quidditch pitch (Hermione- less) with their fellow team mates--Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper, the beaters who replaced Fred and George last year, and Ginny who had gladly taken Ron's offer on becoming one of the three new Chasers.  
  
The air was crisp and felt refreshing as it blew on Harry's face and through the fringe of his hair. It had seemed so long since he was out here and almost instantly, Harry felt as if he and the pitch were united as one. It appeared that his other team mates felt the exact same way for they too were gazing around at the stadium with great enthusiasm and gleaming eyes.  
  
Soon, a whole range of Gryffindor students were arriving and began lining up along the side of the pitch, looking very anxious. "Right," Ron yelled out so that everyone could hear him. "I suppose you are all here to tryout for the Chaser position?......GOOD! Now first--OH NO!!"  
  
Harry was about to ask Ron what was wrong, but he got his answer when he heard a large crowd of laughter. It was the Slytherin Quidditch team and they were headed straight at them.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, MALFOY?" Harry glowered.  
  
"Hello, Potter," Malfoy said coolly. "Just wanted to wish Weasley here congratulations on becoming Quidditch captain........why, the Quidditch cup is as good as ours with this lot!" he eyed the members of the Gryffindor team and several grunts of amusement came from the surrounding Slytherins. "Pathetic!!!!!........I say you stop this foolish tryout Weasley, nothing you do is gonna make you a better team OR a better keeper!"  
  
Ron was turning purple with anger and reached into his robes for his wand, but Harry held him back. "You listen here Malfoy!! Gryffindor is ten times better than your team and we're gonna beat you so bad that you'll be crying to your dearest daddy!!" Ron yelled malevolently as he tried to fight out of Harry's grasp.  
  
"Oh we'll see who's the better team, Weasley.....oh and good luck with finding new Chasers, you're going to need it!" And he along with the Slytherin team walked off, jeering and singing loudly a verse of "WEASLEY IS OUR KING!"  
  
By the time the tryouts had finished, the bright afternoon sun was beaming down and Harry was glad now to be seated in the shade of the Gryffindor common room, exhausted from a very tiring morning. Ron on the other hand was pacing up and down the room, taking out his aggression on a scarlet and gold coloured pillow.  
  
"OOH! I HATE IT WHEN MALFOY'S RIGHT........THAT RUTHLESS GIT!!" Ron yelled as he threw the pillow at Harry's face, which would have hit him if he hadn't have caught it. "I can't believe that out of nine people, only ONE was decent enough to play on the team, Natalie McDonald!!......the rest of them were all rubbish!.....HOW ARE WE EVER GOING TO FIND ANOTHER PLAYER?"  
  
Harry thought hard. Ron was so furious that Harry didn't dare tell Ron that he too wasn't that great of a Keeper either. Instead however, Harry settled on giving Ron encouraging advice. "Erm, maybe th--"  
  
"ARGH! I'll get Malfoy if it's the last thing I do!!!!" Ron bellowed so that everyone in the common room could hear him, many of them cheering Ron on with support, others frightened at the snarl on Ron's face. No one even noticed the portrait door swing open and a small first year girl enter, who plopped herself down on a chair next to Harry. She seemed to be absorbed in a letter of some sort.  
  
"Hey Annabelle!" Harry called out to her.  
  
She looked up from her letter, "Oh hi Harry," she said sweetly as Ron muttered words of anger under his breath, still quite upset.  
  
"Oh, don't mind Ron.....he's not in his right mind at the moment," Harry assured Annabelle when he saw her glance uneasily at Ron. "What are you reading there?" Harry asked, changing the subject.  
  
"What, this?" She held out the sheet of parchment. "Oh it's just a letter from my brother."  
  
"You mean Oliver?" Harry remembered how she had told him her relation to Oliver Wood at the Start of the Year feast. "How's he doing these days?"  
  
"He's doing fine," Annabelle answered. "He just wanted to congratulate me on making it into Gryffindor......he's been so busy with Puddlemere United that he hasn't had the time to write." She smiled, "He said that it's all thanks to me that he's doing so well."  
  
"What do you mean?" Harry inquired.  
  
"Oh, well ever since he got accepted on the team, he's been making me practice with him......he says that I'm a natural!" She smiled even more.  
  
"You mean, you practiced scoring on Wood--I mean, your brother?" Ron asked. He was now listening intently in on the conversation.  
  
"Of course I did, ever since I was 8......it was Oliver who taught me how to fly! He said he wouldn't be surprised if I made the house team." She frowned, "I guess I'll just have to wait till next year though.......I heard that first years aren't allowed on the team."  
  
"Hmm," Ron was deep in thought. "Harry, you think if I went to McGonagall she'd let us bend the rules a little bit......I mean she did let YOU on the team in your first year."  
  
"I dunno, Ron. Would you like to be on the team Annabelle?" Harry said.  
  
"Are you kidding?....Of course I'd like to be on the team!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement.  
  
"Well it's settled then, I'm going to go have a chat with McGonagall." Ron leaped from his chair and ran towards the door. "See ya at dinner!"  
  
Harry spent the hours before dinner talking to Annabelle in the common room. She seemed very keen on the sport of Quidditch and Harry was hoping with all his might that Professor McGonagall would let her on the team.  
  
That evening, Harry made his way down to the Great Hall for dinner with Annabelle and her first year friends, who were all gawking at Harry's scar with amazement and whispering to each other words that Harry couldn't make out, but were making him feel a little uncomfortable. Ron was still probably meeting with Professor McGonagall and he hadn't seen Hermione all day. When he reached the Gryffindor table, he took a seat next to Neville and began serving himself a spoonful of spaghetti.  
  
No sooner had he slurped up his fork full of noodles, Ron came sprinting towards him and by the looks of it, he seemed very happy.  
  
"I did it Harry!! She's on the team!" Ron sat down next to him. "Yea, hear that Annabelle..........You're on the team!!" She squealed with excitement.  
  
"She couldn't refuse--I told her that we really needed her on the team and that--we really needed to beat the Slytherins--I knew she wanted to show Slytherin just how much better we are than them." Ron said as he ate ferociously and swallowed. "Say, where's Hermione?"  
  
Harry shrugged his shoulders, "Probably in the library as usual......look, here she is now." But she wasn't alone, Artemis was walking right next to her and both of them took seats across from Harry and Ron.  
  
"And what have you two been up to?" Ron asked before Hermione had a chance to say anything.  
  
"Oh, I was in the library and we--er--we kind of ran into each other as we came to eat," Hermione explained as she busied herself with a roll of bread and butter, although Harry could sense Hermione's voice quaver a little. "That's all, it wasn't like I was with him the whole day or anything.......RIGHT Artemis?"  
  
"Ugh, right.......we met at the entrance," Artemis answered, and he too seemed a bit anxious.  
  
"Okay," Ron dismissed the subject. "Well guess what then............go on, guess." His eyes were wide with joy and his smile stretched from ear to ear.  
  
Hermione looked at Ron strangely. "Umm, what Ron?"  
  
"Tell 'em Harry.........tell them the good news!!" Ron said still smiling.  
  
"Um--well...............Gryffindor has a full Quidditch team again, Natalie McDonald in 3rd year and Ron's just convinced McGonagall to let Oliver Wood's sister be on the team."  
  
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed. "I just wish I was there to watch the tryouts."  
  
"Oh that's okay.............but you'll be at the practices, right?" Ron questioned.  
  
"Sure I will!! I can't wait to see the whole team play together," she replied excitedly.  
  
That night, Ron and Harry decided to get a head start on a new game plan for their first match against Slytherin. They found such a task quite difficult though with Hermione insisting that they did their homework instead. "You'll be sorry when Monday comes and you two haven't even started you Transfiguration essay," she said shrilly as she sat, busily knitting one of her garments for the house elves.  
  
"Oh Hermione come off it!" Ron said. "I know for a fact that you want to see Slytherin go down just as much as we do...........Besides, we're not the ones wasting our time on knitting silly hats and scarves for elves that don't even want them."  
  
"Ron, just because I want Gryffindor to win doesn't mean I'm going to write your essays for you." Hermione said as she crossed her arms. "And for your information, every hat and scarf that I left out have all been taken........it looks like the house elves may want freedom after all!" Hermione now had a sort of smug expression on her face.  
  
Still, Harry knew something that Hermione didn't. She was wrong; the house elves working at Hogwarts would probably rather die than ever give up their so-called 'slavery'. The only reason that all Hermione's well-crafted clothes of freedom were disappearing was that Dobby was the one taking them all, and Harry had never had the heart to admit this to her.  
  
"All right, we'll start our essays," Harry said just so Hermione would stop pestering them, However, Harry and Ron never even got the chance to open their books (Self-Transfiguration and its Dangers) for at that moment there was a loud tap on the Gryffindor Tower window.  
  
"HEDWIG!!" Harry exclaimed as he quickly ran over to the drafty window and opened the latch to let her in. Gracefully, Hedwig landed on top of Ron's Quidditch sketches with a roll of parchment tied to her foot, which Harry carefully untied. "It's a letter from Lupin," Harry informed his friends.  
  
"Well what are you waiting for, READ IT!" urged Ron.  
  
Harry unrolled the parchment and began reading it aloud.  
  
_Dear Harry,  
  
How have you been? I haven't heard much from you lately so I suspect that you've been okay. You've probably heard about Mundungus from the Daily Prophet ......I don't want you to worry, we're all doing our best here. At the moment we are currently devising a new tactic, we're not quite sure if we want to follow through with it though, for it is quite dangerous. Oh, tell Ron that it's great to hear that he's been made captain, we're all very proud. Keep in touch........We'll try to give you more updates soon as to our situation but for now, just stay on guard. I've tried using Sirius' old mirror, but it doesn't seem to be working.  
  
Lupin  
  
P.S. Always remember to keep practicing your Occlumency.  
_  
"What mirror Harry?" Hermione asked with curiosity once Harry had finished reading.  
  
Harry had never told his friends about the magical mirrors and began explaining, "When we left Grimmauld Place right after Christmas last year," Ron shuddered. He wasn't very eager to discuss anything relating to last year's Christmas, for they were all forced to spend it at St. Mungo's Hospital due to the vicious attack on Ron's father.  
  
Regardless of this, Harry continued, "Well, Sirius gave me this two way mirror--kind of like those Muggle Walkie-Talkies--so that we could talk to each other.......he and my dad used to use it when they were in detentions," Harry frowned. "When Sirius died, he left me his half of the mirror so I gave it to Lupin just before we left for Hogwarts.......So that we could find out about Voldemort from him and the Order."  
  
"Okay.......so Lupin has and mirror and you have a mirror........but why can't he reach you?" Ron questioned.  
  
"I broke my half," Harry said reluctantly. He was not so willing to admit his slight stupidity. If he hadn't have broken the mirror, this whole conversation could have been spared and the three of them would probably have much more information dealing with everything going on back at Grimmauld Place. "I'm not really sure how to fix it. That's why Lupin can't reach me."  
  
"Well did you try a bit of Spellotape?" Ron asked.  
  
"Yea, but I don't think it worked," Harry reached into his robe pocket and felt around for the taped up mirror, "See." He showed it to them for the first time.  
  
"Can I see it for a minute Harry," Hermione said. He handed it to her gingerly as if it were going to fall to pieces any moment. Hermione held it in her hand and pulled out her wand. "REPARO," she said as she attempted to use the spell to fix the broken mirror. She had used this spell before to repair Harry's broken glasses, yet nothing happened. "REPARO," she tried once again, and still there was nothing. "Hmm that's definitely strange," she examined the mirror more thoroughly and her index finger landed on what appeared to be a strange marking on the back that Harry had never paid attention to before.  
  
"What's that?" he asked, craning his neck to get a better look. The marking was rather faded but Harry could still make out its image. It appeared to be a silver crescent moon amongst flames of fire and engraved in the center of it was a large letter M.  
  
"I've seen this mark before," Hermione informed. "Somewhere in a book I've read.....Harry, this is no ordinary mirror!"  
  
"Hermione I think we knew that......why else do you think you can use it to communicate with others!" Ron said sarcastically.  
  
"That's not what I meant, Ron," Hermione snapped. "If I remember correctly, this mark belongs to Methuselah the Mighty." Harry and Ron stared at her with a blank expression. "I swear, you two would never pick up a book if your life depended on it!......Methuselah the Mighty was the one who produced this mirror many years ago, Harry."  
  
"So. What's so special about that?"  
  
"Well........first of all, there were only about half a dozen pairs ever made, which makes them very rare, I wonder how Sirius and your father ever got their hands them. Secondly, you see this moon here," she gave Harry and Ron a better look at the marking on the back. "I read that all the mirrors that Methuselah made contained fragments of moon stones in it, and were wrought within the fiery breath of a dragon......that's what makes this mirror so special..........so magical......not only did the moon stones hold bits of magic in them, but being made in the fire of a dragon makes this mirror almost unfixable if broken. Harry, no human alive could ever repair this." She gave Harry a sympathetic look.  
  
"So there's not a single way that this mirror can be fixed then?" Ron blurted out.  
  
"Well......it said that no HUMAN--Muggle or Wizard could fix it. As for what other means of repairing there are out there, I have no clue what-so- ever."  
  
Harry sat quietly and deep in thought. This was one of the very few times that Hermione had ever failed to find a solution for something--even if he needed her help now, more than ever before. At the moment, the mirror was his only key to keep him in contact with Lupin. If he used Hedwig, they ran the risk of the letters being intercepted and who knew if Voldemort had spies set up at the Ministry, watching the Floo Network.

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There ya go! Well PLEASE PLEASE don't 4get to post a review on your thoughts!


	12. Things Mended

Hi there again!! Finally after like a whole year I decided to continue writing!! lol but It's not really my fault (I've been so busy with school and all). Umm Thanks to you all who have been reading....I received your reviews!! So without further adieu....I bring you the next chappie!!

_Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling and I don't claim any of her characters.....etc. etc. etc._

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**Chapter 12: Things Mended**  
  
One mid-October morning, Harry, Ron and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were out on the pitch for their first practice of the year. As they walked out further into the field, the dew that clinged to each blade of grass began to slowly soak through their socks and inbetween their toes. Ron's eyes looked around with much excitement, but Harry noticed that Ron also seemed a bit nervous. Afterall, this was Ron's first practice as captain and Harry knew that Ron wanted nothing more than to show the whole school that he was capable of leading Gryffindor to victory.  
  
"Well, are we ready?" Ron asked his teammates. 

Ron had already gone over some new game plans with the team in the dressing room previous to this moment. He and Harry had come up with them the few nights before with Hermione's constant bickering, telling them to finish their homework in the background. To the both of them, being ready for their first game was a lot more important than finishing a Defense Against the Dark Arts essay.

Using Harry's birthday present from Ron (the miniature Quidditch playing field, complete with little players) as a visual aid, they both came up with manageable moves, that could possible help the team win this years Quidditch cup.  
  
"You bet we're ready!" called out Ginny from behind little Annabelle, who stood there, holding her new Nimbus 2002 which she recieved from her brother as a gift for making the team. Annabelle was probabaly more excited than everyone else standing there--Harry could tell from the glint in her eyes and the smile on her face. He too felt the same way during his first year at Hogwarts. To him, it seemed like only yesterday that Oliver Wood was explaining to him the rules of the game. Harry was just remembering the first time he held the Snitch in his hand (how it felt cold and smooth, with its wings brushing against his palm) when Ron began speaking to the team.

"Alright," Ron said. "Our first match is against Slytherin (the team booed).......I know it will be a challenging match, but we can do it!" When Ron said this, everyone cheered and as the moise settled down, Ron spoke again. "Okay, so let's go up there and do it just like I showed you in the dressing room!"

Ron slowly walked over to a rather large, wooden chest, unlocked the hinges and released two balls into the air--the Bludger and Quaffle, while Harry took care of the Snitch. At Ron's command, the team kicked off and began soaring high above the ground.  
  
Since it was pointless to practice with the rest of the team, Harry flew off into his own section of the pitch. While the others were working on their moves, Harry and released the small, golden ball from his hand. The Snitch quickly sped off into the distance and out of Harry's view. As Harry floated in mid-air, he listened intently and watched for the Snitch. Suddenly, there it was--metres away from the closest goal post. Instantly, Harry dove after it, and seconds later, the ball was within Harry's tight grasp. After doing this several times, Harry felt that he had enough practice and descended to the ground, and about half an hour later, the rest of the team joined Harry, feeling rather pleased with their performance.

"Good practice!" Harry called out to the rest of his team mates. "You guys were great up there." And Harry meant it. From only one practice, Harry could tell that the team would do a lot better than last year. Even Ron's goal keeping skills were shaping up. He was no longer a clumsy mess on a broomstick.

Looking at his team mates, Harry noticed that Ron was not amongst them but searching through the stadiums, apparently looking for something or someone.  
  
"Ron, what on earth are you looking for?" Harry asked.  
  
"Oh, um.......where is Hermione?" his ears were turning a shade of pink. "She said she would come and watch us, didn't she?"  
  
"Well, maybe she had something important to do.....I mean, you know Hermione.....she's probably studying or something. Anyways, we'll see her later, she promised that we would all go visit Hagrid together after lunch." Harry assured his friend and began wondering to himself, 'Was Ron acting like this because he really had feelings for Hermione?'

Once changed, Harry and Ron made their way to the Great Hall for lunch. To their surprise, Hermione was already seated at the Gryffindor table. Immediately, Ron rushed over to get the empty seat across from her, leaving Harry, chasing him from behind.

"Oh that's right......you had practice today.......I completely forgot." Hermione was talking to Annabelle as Harry and Ron arrived at the table. "Did you enjoy--"  
  
"So what have you been up to this morning, Hermione?" Ron inturrupted their converstaion as he sat down.  
  
"Oh......hi guys," Hermione greeted Harry and Ron. "Nothing really," she replied. "I was just in the library."  
  
"What?" Ron exclaimed. "What have you been doing in there!!......You just missed our first Quidditch practice."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked with a shocked and somewhat hurt expression. "I have NOT been in the library that much!" she said defensively.  
  
"Um.......Hermione," Harry began. "That's not really true you know.........last night, you were in there for an hour........and at lunch a few days ago.........and--"  
  
"Oh alright, I suppose you're right."  
  
"Well, me and Ron just want to know what you have been doing in there." Harry said.  
  
"Fine, I'll tell you." Hermione took a deep breath as if revealing some deep secret. "The reason I have been in the library is because I have been with Artemis......."  
  
"You WHAT?" Ron blurted out.  
  
"You didn't let me finish, Ron........I've been helping him with some Transfiguration homework........that's all."  
  
"And what exactly does a Katherine Cackles student need help with? They're supposed to be the smartest students in all of England!" Ron questioned, seeming a little irritated.  
  
"Well, you should know! Or don't tell me you're not finding Transfiguation much more difficult this year! He just asked me to help him out a little......and why should you two care?.....I Help you out all the time!"  
  
Ron opened his mouth as if to continue the arguement, but thought otherwise. "Okay, fine," Ron said. He began eating, yet Harry noticed that both Ron and Hermione didn't speak to each other that much for the remainder of the meal and left Harry to do most of the talking.  
  
Upon finishing lunch, the trio exited the Great Hall and was now walking through the castle grounds towards Hagrid's hut, with Ron still rather quiet. As they approached the large hut, they saw that the giant pumpkins Hagrid was growing were even bigger now. Harry knocked on the front door and from within all three of them heard a loud crash.  
  
"Gimme a second," came Hagrid's voice from within.  
  
"I wonder what that noise was," Harry asked his friends, and they both shrugged their shoulders to show that they didn't know.  
  
Finally, Hagrid opened the door and welcomed the three of them. "Er, sorry 'bout that--Would you two stop breaking things!!" Hagrid turned his head and spoke to something in the other direction, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione confused. "Well, come on in," Hagrid said and each of them entered Hagrid's large house hold.  
  
"Hargid," Hermione began, as she took a seat. "What was that loud crash?"  
  
"Oh, that..... well I seem to have picked up a couple o' visitors. They jus' appeared one day searchin' through my garbage."  
  
A familiar light struck Harry's mind and he glanced at Hermione. Even Ron broke out of his quiet state and minutes later, they found out why. "Look!" Ron exclaimed.  
  
Harry and Hermione both turned their heads in the direction that Ron was pointing. There they saw two small creatures with blue hair--both identical. "Geminus and Gemellus!" Harry shouted.  
  
"You know 'em?" Hagrid asked surprised.  
  
"Yes, we met them in the summer!" Hermione added.  
  
Both the twins were on the floor, appearing to be putting broken pieces of a large plate back together--the plate that had caused the large crash.  
  
Hagrid continued speaking, "I jus' found 'em one day lookin' through my hut, makin' this big mess......I let 'em stay for a while.........They're funny little creatures eh?.....I wanna show them to my third year students"

"They might enjoy that," Harry said remembering his past experiences with Hagrid's class--Blast-ended Skrewts, Hippogriffs, and so on.

"Why hello again kind humans!" came a squeaky voice. "We meet again." Geminus smiled at Harry while Gemillus handed Hagrid the plate.

"But....Hagrid--the plate--its......Fixed" Ron said, surprised.

"O' course it's fixed!....these two seem to have some sort of magic in 'em.....they've been breaking and fixing things ever since they got here."

"That's right," Hermione said. "Remember how they fixed that broken picture frame in your room at Grimmauld Place?"

Harry, like Ron had forgotten that up till now and like a bolt of lightning, it hit him. Harry reached into his robe pocket and carefully took out the broken pieces of Sirius' mirror. Would these two creatures be able to fix the mirror?

"And how has Mr. Harry Potter been since we've seen him last?" the twins asked.

"Um.....I've been all right i guess," Harry said. "I was wondering.....would you two be able to fix this mirror that I broke?" He laid the shards of glass on the floor for the twins to examine.

Right away, the two creatures walked over to the spot where the glass lay. They looked at the broken mirror and smiled. "We shall try just for Mr. Harry," they said brightly.

The two started working meticulously on the mirror, yet Harry didn't see them making any progress. The mirror was still broken into four pieces. 'I knew it wouldn't work' Harry thought to himself. Harry was just about to give up on it all when a flash of bright blue light--brighter than the two creatures' hair--began emanating from the mirror. "Wh-what's going on?" Harry asked.

"Shhh," Hermione whispered and pointed towards the light.

Harry looked to find the pieces of glass were glowing now, brighter than ever and one by one began to float slightly, about two feet above the floor. It was an amazing sight, as slowly the pieces began forming together. Once the mirror became whole, it gave one last burst of blue light before slowly coming back to the floor and landing gently with a soft thud.

Quickly, Harry rushed over to the floor where the mirror lay. He couldn't believe it as he carefully picked up the mirror. It was fixed, as if never broken. Turning to Geminus and Gemellus , Harry began to speak. "I--I can't believe you fixed it!.....I mean, we tried everthing and nothing worked, but now.....you did it!"

The two looked at Harry, proud of their efforts, smiling. "Why, anything for Mr. Potter and his friends!.....and now we believe our debt to you has been repayed and we must be leaving you, kind Haggy!"

"What did they call you?" Ron asked almost laughing at the strange name given to Hagrid..

"Oh never mind that," Hagrid replied brushing off the subject. "What do yeh mean yer leavin'? I thought yeh wanted to stay." Hagrid seemed hurt that they didn't wish to stay any longer.

"Well, we only came to Hogwarts to find Mr. Harry and his friends....we needed to repay them for the beans, before returning back home.....now that we have found them, we can leave."

"Oh, well if yer sure you don't want to stay," Hagrid began. "Then it's best you be off." Yet Harry knew that Hagrid wanted more than anything for the twins to stay. Hagrid had always took a shining to strange creatures--no matter what they were.

"Good bye then every one......until we meet again!" and with that the two creatures waved their small arms and scurried out the back door--out of view and out of Harry's life forever.

That night in his room, Harry, Ron and Hermione examined the mirror. Harry could not believe that within seconds, he would be able to communicate to Lupin.

"Well, here it goes," Harry took a deep breath and spoke into the mirror. "Um...can I speak to Remus Lupin.....please."

"I think it's working," Harry exclaimed as the image of his face in the mirror became blurry and soon, he was no longer looking back at his reflection, but what appeared to be a ceiling. From this, Harry could tell that Lupin's mirror was lying on a table, face-up. "Is anybody there?" Harry spoke. There was no answer and after a few idyll minutes, the ceiling blurred and Harry's reflection returned. "Well, I guess he wasn't there."

"At least we know that it works Harry," Hermione said.

"That's true," Ron added. "You can try again later."

Harry smiled at Ron, yet he was disappointed. In his heart, he really wished to speak to Lupin. He needed to know if there was any more news on Voldemort. Was Harry still safe at Hogwarts or was Voldemort getting closer to Harry's defeat?

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Well....that's it for now i guess. Sorry if it's not really good....I'm still trying to get back into the whole writing thing lol....Please Review it!....If you have any ideas, I'm always open to the suggestion!....Thanks again! 


	13. A Plan Revealed

Here's the next installment to the story!! Thanks to everyone for their reviews....sorry to leviyl if I seem to be getting off topic lol...I hope this is better!

_Disclaimer: I'm Not JK Rowling....I don't own Harry Potter.....I don't take claim for any of the characters created by JK herself._

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**Chapter 13: A Plan Revealed**

Soon, before Harry knew it, Halloween was just around the corner and as usual, the Great Hall was festooned with Hagrid's giant pumpkins, while dozens of black bats swooped through the hall's enchanted ceiling. Two weeks had passed since he had gotten his mirror fixed and yet, as busy as his days were, Harry had no time at all to attempt to contact Lupin. In addition to his load of homework every night, Ron (and perhaps the rest of the Quidditch team), hungry for victory, had agreed to practices every Wednesday evening after dinner, and on every Saturday in preparation for the match against Slytherin taking place on the second week of November.

Although it had been a while since Harry had tried to contact Lupin, he didn't feel that anything severe had happened yet to the world outside of Hogwarts, due to the fact that there were no breaking news articles on the front page of the Daily Prophet and no urgent letters being sent to him. Yet, at dinner that night, Harry as well as the entire student body, received some shocking news.

As everyone indulged themselves with plenty of food, out of nowhere came a most delicate noise. Looking up from their meals and turning their heads in the direction of the head table where the sound had originated, they noticed that none other than Percy Weasley, the Official School Patroller was holding a goblet in his hand and was gently tapping it with his knife in hopes of attracting the students' attention. Once aware that he had everyone's undivided attention he began to speak.

"Now I am quite aware that tomorrow is Halloween and usually you students are accustomed to visiting Hogsmeade on such an occasion. However, given the circumstances, no one will be permitted to leave the school grounds for safety purposes." Percy said pompously as he gazed out through his horn-rimmed glasses.

Groans of disappointment erupted from the sea of students. "I know you were all looking forward to the small outing, but the teachers and the head master have all decided that it would be best for the time being that we avoid any activities that have you leaving the safety of the school walls," Percy replied.

Although Harry felt everyone else's pain, inside he knew that it would probably be for the best. "Hopefully in the future, there will be a chance for village visits seeing as how I did promise at least one at the start of term feast." Percy added, trying to cheer the students up. At last Percy took his seat and slowly, everyone had eaten to their fullest and were beginning to retire back to their common rooms. In his mind, Harry decided that tonight would be the night he would finally try to reach Lupin.

Back in the common room, Harry had told his friends his idea and they too wanted to be there to witness what Lupin had to say. Thus, Harry and Ron pretended to be deep in thought as they read the pages that Professor Granita had assigned, waited for the room to empty. Hermione though, didn't have to pretend to be working. Now that Ron and Harry knew about her attempt at tutoring Artemis in Transfiguration, there was no need for secrecy so her and Artemis sat at the other end of the table, writing study notes for their upcoming test. And at the moment, Parvati and Lavender were staring dreamily at Artemis, probably imagining themselves in Hermione's place.

Ron caught this and scoffed. "What does everyone see in that guy?" Ron asked Harry. "I mean, sure, he's got that blonde hair and those bright blue eyes that any girl could fall for." Harry laughed at Ron as he continued to blab on about Artemis.

Finally, Seamus and Dean stood from their spot and made their way to the staircase. "G'night," Seamus said as he gave a big yawn and soon, Artemis too, had to give in. He gathered his belongings and just before ascending to his room, took Hermione's hand and like before in the Great Hall, kissed her hand. "Good night everyone," he said and then left the trio alone, in front of the nearly extinguished fireplace.

When Hermione turned to her friends, Ron's mouth was wide open. "What was that all about?" he asked.

"Oh nothing, he was just saying good night," Hermione answered, slightly flushed. "Why? Are you jealous?"

"Me? Certainly not! Why would I be jealous?....There's no reason for me to be jealous of any sort!" Ron crossed his arms in disgust. "Besides, we're not here to discuss this. We're here for Harry," he looked towards his friend. "So what are you waiting for mate, where's your mirror?"

Harry dug into his pocket and pulled out the mirror. Staring directly into the silvery glass, he spoke. "I wish to speak with Lupin." Again as before, Harry's image in the mirror blurred out of view to reveal Lupin's face staring back at him. Ron and Hermione quickly stood and took the position at Harry's side.

"Hello Harry....Ron....Hermione," Lupin greeted and smiled. "How have you all been?"

"Oh we're fine....Percy just told us that they're canceling our Hogsmeade visit tomorrow," Harry informed.

"Oh yes, that's right," Lupin replied. "Cornelius Fudge suggested the idea to Dumbledore and I suppose they're going through with it.....we can't risk anything at the moment you know."

"So has anything happened lately, Lupin?" Harry inquired.

"Well, no news on You-Know-Who right now," Lupin frowned. "No one was willing to go to his hideout after what happened to Mundungus."

"Well who wouldn't," Ron blurted out.

"Yes, that's right Ron," Lupin gave a small smile. "But I think we've found a solution to that problem....I don't think I can tell you it just yet though....well that's about it for now I suppose, so I think I better turn in for the night....you three should get to bed too, it's getting late...and Harry, don't forget to--"

"I know, I know....clear my mind before I go to sleep."

Lupin chuckled, "Yes....well good night everyone and pleasant dreams." The mirror blurred once again and then resumed the reflection of Harry's face.

The next day, since Hogsmeade was canceled, the students spent their day by roaming the castle grounds. Harry, Ron and Hermione kept to themselves as they sat in the courtyard, discussing the events of the night before.

"So what do you reckon this new plan is that Lupin was talking about?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione.

"I haven't the slightest clue," Harry responded as he stared blankly off into the distance. "But I hope it works."

"Whatever it is," Hermione began. "I hope v-Voldemort can be stopped soon."

Ron shuddered, "I don't understand how you can say his name Hermione!....It's just--too horrible!"

"Oh Ron. You've got to start saying it sometime....How can you go on fearing a thing that's as simple as a name?" Hermione asked.

Ron opened his mouth to protest but right at that moment, Ginny came running up towards them. "Harry--Professor--McGonagall--wants to see you. She said Dumbledore--wants to speak--to you--it's urgent," Ginny managed to say in between gasps for air.

"What?" Harry exclaimed as he stood from the stone bench. "Did she say why?"

Ginny shook her head as she took the now empty seat next to her brother. "She just said it was very important."

"Alright, I guess I'll catch up with you all later," Harry said as he made his way to the large wooden doors, leading to the Entrance Hall. He then ascended the grand staircase as quickly as he could, until he reached the second floor of the castle. At once, Harry began searching for the gargoyle statue that marked the secret entrance to Dumbledore's office. Harry had no difficulty spotting such a statue, one reason was because he had been to Dumbledore's office quite a few times before, the second reason was because just outside the statue stood Professor McGonagall.

"Potter," she called out to him. "I suppose Miss Weasley has informed you of this urgency?"

"Yes Professor, but why--"

"There's no time for explanations right now. Acid Pop." And the passage hidden by the grotesque statue was revealed and both Harry and McGonagall climbed up the stairs. Once at the top, McGonagall knocked on the door.

"You may enter," came Dumbledore's gentle voice from within.

As the door swung open it was made known that inside this room was being held a secret meeting. Harry was surprised to see many familiar faces staring back at him. Seated in the room were Mr Weasley, Lupin, Cornelius Fudge, Moody, Snape, Dedalus Diggle, Shaklebolt, and to Harry's utmost shock, the past Headmaster of Durmstrang, Karkaroff. They all smiled and greeted him (all except Snape) as Harry entered the room.

"Welcome Harry," Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you Minerva...you may both have a seat." And he gestured towards two chairs at the end of the room. "Now Harry, I have decided it would be wise to have you included in this meeting, just so that there is no confusion....I am aware that Remus has spoken to you about a new plan that we are devising?"

Harry nodded in agreement.

"Well, then I believe you remember Igor Karkaroff from the last time he visited Hogwarts during the Triwizard tournament." Dumbledore's hand led Harry's eyes to where Karkaroff had been sitting, next to Moody.

"Yea, where did you find him? I thought he fled the minute he heard Voldemort returned." Harry said with curiosity.

"You see Harry," Mr Weasley took the floor. "We never found Karkaroff. In fact we think he left the continent completely, hiding."

Harry was sure Mr Weasley had lost it. "But--then--" Harry was definitely confused as he stared at Karakoff...or was it? At that moment, Karkaroff's face became distorted as it slowly transformed. Karkaroff's dark hair was now lightening to a light shade of pink and soon, sitting among them was Tonks. Harry gaped in amazement.

"See Harry, Tonks and Severus have both agreed to become our eyes and ears inside of You-Know-Who's hideout. Tonks, disguised as Karkaroff along with Snape will pretend to have returned to the Dark Lord's side." Lupin explained. "They can help us with information in His progress."

Harry now understood. "Are you sure it will work?"

"We certainly hope so." Dumbledore spoke again. "Severus has already been instructing Tonks in the art of Occlumency so that Lord Voldemort cannot read their minds."

Yet, Harry couldn't help but question Snape's loyalty. What made everyone so sure that he was definitely on their side? Harry knew that everyone appeared to have trusted him, but Harry wasn't going to easily forget how much hatred Snape showed towards him for the past five years.

As soon as Harry was dismissed from the meeting, he looked everywhere for his friends, finally finding them out by the lake--Ron, chucking stones into the cool waters and Hermione seated under the large tree.

"Harry!" Hermione called out to him from under the beach tree. "What happened?"

Harry went into full detail of what had just happened--the secret meeting, Dumbledore telling him their new plan and when he explained how Tonks had transformed into Karkaroff, Hermione let out a big gasp of shock.

"Bloody brilliant!" Ron exclaimed. "I never would have imagined!"

Ron and Hermione obviously weren't as concerned about Snape as Harry was or perhaps they trusted Snape to be on their side. However, at that moment, Harry chose not to let Snape bother him. He decided to wait and see if Snape would prove his loyalty. As he contemplated these thoughts in his mind, Harry joined Ron and threw a large stone into the lake and watched as it made a large splash, the ripples slowly moving outward, causing a small disruption of the lake's calm waters.

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Alrighty!....another chapter finished! A little shorter, but that's ok. Please Review and offer up some suggestions to make the story better! Thanx 


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